Betrayed from Within
by Jenny Telrio
Summary: It has been 3 years since book 4. The Flock is reunited by a sudden tragedy. This tragedy brings the Flock to a small island where they come across a secret that has been kept from the Flock for way too long. T for mild tragic parts and some language.
1. Introduction

Chapter 1: The Introduction

Rrring! Rrring! Rrring! "Angel can you get the phone?" Rrring! "Angel please, I'm busy right now." I called out. I could hear Angel fighting with her brother, Gazzy. This always happens whenever I tell them to do something. They fight about who does it and by the time they're done; it's too late to do whatever it was.

"Angel, I asked you. Just get the phone." I sighed as Angel stomped off to get the phone. It's a simple task, get the phone, my gosh!

"It's Nudge, Max." Angel says. "Nudge? Really? Uh hold on, tell her I'll be there in a second." Nudge. I haven't heard from her since the big blowup.

It happened two years ago. That day, The Flock had a huge fight. It started with something really simple, something that shouldn't have broken us up. Angel was just about seven years old and she asked Fang to take her to a birthday party. Fang said no so Angel started to cry and scream.

I came into the room to see what the problem was and I saw Angel crying her head off. "What's wrong?" I asked. Angel said, "Fang won't take me to my bestest friend Riley's birthday party."

I yelled at Fang for being so lazy and we got into a screaming match. Within a few minutes, the entire Flock was in the room and getting involved.

"I agree with Fang. Fang is going to his friend's house and shouldn't have to set his life aside for Angel!" Nudge protested. Within a few minutes, we were all arguing and screaming. We got out of control and brought up everything we could think of that each member of the Flock did to us and yelled about it.

Eventually, Fang said that he didn't need us and that he'd leave. I was really mad so I said, "Fine, leave I don't care!" Fang, Iggy, and Nudge packed up their things and left while we stayed in our cheap apartment. We hadn't heard from them since so this must be really important. Would she apologize to me? Would this finally be over?

I picked up the phone. "Hello?" I could hear Nudge crying. Nudge never ever cried. Or at leastnever so anyone else would hear. This must means that been something major had ocurred.

"Max, there's something that I have to tell you. Iggy and Fang are in the hospital. Car- crash hit- and run." Nudge was breaking up. "Critical condition. Please come. I'm living in Atlanta right now. I'll pick you up at the Hartsfield-Jackson International airport if you can come unless you want to fly." I had to take all of this in.

"I'll leave first flight from the airport tomorrow. I want to arrive as quickly as possible. Also, I'm really sorry about everything that happened." I said. "Yeah, me too." Nudge hung up.

"What did she say, what did she say?" Gazzy and Angel were jumping up and down. "Tell us, tell us." I wiped the tears from my eye.

"Fang and Iggy were very badly injured. We're going to Atlanta tomorrow so pack your things." Angel hesitated and then said, "Were they hurt from one of their bombs?" I smiled slightly. "No, you'd think so, but it was a hit and run car crash that did them in. I'm sure they'll be fine. Why don't you two go pack?"

"How much do we need?" Gazzy asked. "Pack for three days." Gazzy and Angel headed to pack while I sat at the computer and purchased three airline tickets. The only tickets that I could afford left at four in the morning and took two stops. Two stops to get from Tennessee to Atlanta! If only the government would send us more than 200 dollars a month.

"We're ready." Gazzy and Angel said. They were holding their suitcases in their hand. Gazzy's suitcase had shirts and socks hanging out. "Gazzy." I frowned and helped Iggy pack the correct way.

That night I had a very hard time getting to sleep. Every time I tried, thoughts of Iggy and Fang lying in a hospital bed mangled kept popping into my head and no matter what I thought of instead, it somehow kept leading back to Iggy and Fang. That couldn't have been a good sign.


	2. The Worst Day Ever

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Chapter 2

The next day, we were on the plane. It had been a very stressful morning. We had almost missed our flight, then when we boarded the plane, Angel and Gazzy fought about who would get the window seat, and when we finally got settled after rushing to catch the plane, there was a half hour delay.

"We would have been better off flying ourselves." I muttered. "And it would've been a heck of a lot cheaper."

"Do you think that they'll be okay?" Angel asked. "Angel, I don't know, I really don't know. All that we can do is pray now." We remained silent for the rest of the flight. When we finally landed, we were stuck on the tarmac for another hour do to some type of security delay.

When we finally got off, we had to wait another half hour for our luggage, and then it took us another twenty minutes to find Nudge, but when we did find her it was all worth it. "Nudge!" I ran up to her.

"Wow. Look at Angel. She's so grown up." Angle smiled. "What about me?" Gazzy asked. "Wow! You too. I've missed you guys. Anyway, visiting hours are about to begin at the Downtown General Hospital we should get going."

Nudge took us on a MARTA bus, part of Atlanta's public transit system. It took us nearly forty minutes, but we got to the hospital.

"Fang, Iggy!" There they were sleeping calmly and quietly in two gurneys. "Should we wake them up?" Gazzy asked. I shook my head.

I could barely look at them. Both of their faces were mauled, and they both had multiple broken limbs. "I hope that they're not in too much pain." I whispered to Angel. "Well, they gave them pain killers, but still. Iggy has massive internal injuries, and Fang's aren't as serious, though both aren't in their best condition."

Fang opened his eyes. "Hey Nudge. Max, Angel, Gazzy!"

"Yeah, it's us. We flew all the way from Tennessee." Fang raised his gurney in a position where he could sit up. "Iggy! Iggy." Fang shouted.

Iggy woke up. "Huh, what, who?" I turned to face Iggy. "It's us. Max, Gazzy, and Angel." Iggy's eyes widened.

"Wow. I haven't heard from you in ages." Iggy smiled. "Are you in pain?" Gazzy asked. "Yeah, it feels like there's broken glass inside of me, and I'm aching everywhere. But I'm living."

A doctor came in. "Nudge, honey, I need to speak with you." Nudge left the room leaving me to think about what the doctor would have to say. Would it be bad?

"Tell us about the car crash." Gazzy said. "Gazzy!" Fang smiled. "It's okay."

"Don't tell Nudge this, but we weren't going to get donuts, but we were drag racing." I was shocked. Even for them drag racing was dangerous. "Hey, that Mike Venom asked for it." Iggy added.

"Anyway, a car hit the passenger side of our car and sped away. It threw our car off the overpass and knocked us unconscious." Nudge walked in. "Max, could I talk to you for a minute?" She led me down the hall.

"The doctors need to do intensive surgery. Fang needs a blood transfusion due to the loss of blood, and Iggy needs many types of surgery. Both are dangerous." Nudge held back her tears. "The surgeries are very dangerous and because of our bird DNA, they don't know if the blood transfusion will work on Fang! They said that there's about a 30 chance of survival."

"Well, we don't have any other choice, do we?" Nudge shook her head. "I just hope that they can survive and be back to normal soon."

"They're fighters. All of us are. We've been through so much. This isn't anything different. Besides, a 30 chance isn't a 0 chance." I consoled Nudge and headed back to the hospital room. Fang and Iggy looked relatively happy. How could we tell them, that they only had a 30 chance of survival?

The same doctor that told Nudge of this bad news kicked us out. I told Gazzy and Angel what was happening. "Will they die?" Gazzy asked. "I hope not." I answered. Angel burst out into tears.

"Angel, look there still is a chance of survival." I comforted her. The doctors told us that they had to begin the surgery immediately.

We sat in the waiting room nervously for hours. Eventually, a doctor came out. "One of the patients is most likely okay. The other, has but a day or two to live." The doctor tapped his clipboard as we stared at each other. This time, we all broke out in tears.


	3. Dying wishes

Chapter 3: Dying Wishes

The doctor guided us to Fang and Iggy's room. "Excuse me, who is going to die?" Angel asked the doctor unsuccessfully trying to hide her tears. "Sweet child, are those two boys your brothers?"

"No, but they're like brothers to her. Anyway did you tell him that he was going to die?" I asked the doctor. "Yes, there are 5 stages one goes through when being told that they will die. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Right now he's in between denial and anger. I'd suggest looking cheerful when you come in. He's heard a lot of bad news so I think some happiness won't hurt him."

"Whatever, but who's dying?!" Nudge screamed. "I'm afraid Iggy has less than 48 hours to live. I'm very sorry. I'll leave you alone for awhile. If you need me press the button and a nurse will get me." We opened the door.

Iggy's face was red and blotchy. "Hello Iggy." I said.

"Why am I dying? Why me? I'm a good guy. Besides Fang was in the driver's seat, not me. This is all his fault." Normally Fang would be really mad hearing Iggy say that, but he just cried. Angel walked up to Iggy and hugged him.

"Thanks Angel." Angel kept crying. "Look, is there anything that you wanted to do before you died?" Nudge asked.

"Yes I've always wanted to eat a whole bowl of whipped cream, but now I don't feel up to it. But seriously…" Iggy thought for a little bit. "I've always wanted to tell you something. The scientists have a secret lab on an island. When I was very little, they did tests on my there. Jeb told me about it once. I believe that it's still in existence. There should be a map of it crammed in my sock drawer."

"How come you never told us about this before?" Gazzy asked. "The scientists told me if I told that he'd kill me, all of us really! I couldn't put you guys at risk." Iggy cried a little bit. "But, I think you guys could stop it. I never had the courage to ask you guys before."

"We can do that for you, Iggy." Nudge assured. Iggy sat up. "I'm really upset about one thing. They don't even have enough time to put me in hospice."

"What's hospice?" Angel asked. "Hospice is where dying people go to spend their last days in comfort." I explained. "Oh."

"Iggy, I'll miss you so much. I just wish that we could make one last bomb together." Fang looked like he was about to cry. "Who says that we can't? I'm sure we can someone or some people to get the ingredients."

"But it's our secret recipe." Fang protested. "Just because they have the ingredients doesn't mean that they'll know how to make it." Iggy took a nearby clipboard and a pen. "Iggy, that's you're medical history."

"So?" Iggy and Fang said. We decided to leave Fang and Iggy alone for awhile while we got the ingredients at a nearby store.

"Think about how hard this must be for Fang. I mean they were so close. They destroyed things together, they traded their pranks, and they know all of each other's secrets. They were like twins, twins a few months apart." I said.

When we got back, Iggy and Fang were pillow fighting. "We got everything on your list, but why did you need chocolate chip cookies?" Nudge asked. "Oh, we were just hungry." Iggy smiled.

"Well, here you go." We handed them our shopping bags. "Thank you. We should have fun tonight." Fang and Iggy put the bags under their gurneys and shoved cookies into their mouths."

"Can I have one?" Gazzy asked. "Sure, everyone dig in!" I was happy to see that Iggy was content, but I couldn't bare the event that would come extremely soon. After we finished our cookies, Iggy and Fang started another pillow fight which took our mind off of things for awhile.

"What's going on here?" A nurse asked. "Stop this at once- I mean just be careful okay." Apparently all of the nurses and doctors had taken sympathy for Iggy.

We ate dinner in the hospital cafeteria and then stayed at a nearby hotel down the street. The next day, we arrived as soon as we possibly could. We wanted to spend as much time with Iggy as possible.

When we arrived, Iggy was barely awake. He was really pale and definitely looked weaker and sicker than yesterday. The sight of Iggy like this was extremely depressing. I mean Iggy was always so energetic, so lively, so happy! I remembered what the doctor had said and tried to look cheerful.

"Hey, guys. Did you make any bombs last night?" I asked. "Did we ever!" Fang lifted up a slingshot. "Iggy promised me this!" I smiled. "Wonderful."

"Oh this, all of this has convinced me to say something. Max, Gazzy, Angel I'm very sorry about that fight two years ago. I really wish that I could've spent more time with you. All of you. I've realized how much precious time was wasted." Nudge and I broke into tears. "I'm sorry too." I hugged Iggy.

We talked about all of our adventures together and how much fun we all had over the years. A nurse volunteered to buy us some cookies during her lunch break and they were the best cookies of our life.

At around four o'clock Iggy got tired. "I think that this is the end. But I've lived a very good life I believe." Iggy took a deep breath. "Please, Iggy, don't go to sleep yet." Fang pleaded. Iggy fluffed his pillow.

"There are two last things that I want to say. After that my life is complete. Number one: Nudge, I love you and if I would've lived longer it may have worked between us." Nudge cried and held his hand. "I- I had no idea." Iggy kissed her on the lips.

"The other thing that I must say…" Iggy yawned. "To everybody I've pranked I have to say I'm not at all sorry and I hope that everyone got a good laugh out of them." Angel hugged Iggy and then we all joined in for a large group hug.

Iggy let out a farting noise with his mouth and then drifted to sleep. We stood by him as he took his last breath and his heart beat for the very last time. We all burst into tears while Fang stood by Iggy.

"Please. NO!" Fang cried out. A team of doctors came in and consoled us. Nudge, Angel, and I held each other and cried looking at Iggy.


	4. The Funeral

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**Chapter 4: The Funeral**

Good news: We got a free funeral paid for by the medical staff and some sympathetic people at the morgue. Bad news: Well duh! Iggy had just died. Thoughts of Iggy raced in my head as I tried to get some sleep. I knew that I needed to sleep, I knew that I needed to rest up. After all, tomorrow was the funeral.

I tossed and turned but still couldn't get to sleep. I was physically tired, but my mind was restless. Perhaps if I were to walk around to get some water. That usually helped.

As I went down the hall, I noticed that there was a light on in Nudge and Fang's living room. I walked in and saw Fang going through pictures in the photo album. Fang would stare at one page for a few minutes, then violently flip through the other pages, and then stare at one page again for a few minutes.

"Fang…" I started. He remained motionless. "Fang…Fang! FANG!" I screamed. Fang dropped the photo album.

"You scared me!" Fang's eyes were red and had bags under them. "Fang, I think you need to talk to someone. Seriously."

"I'm fine, perfectly fine! You know, everything's just great, not great of course, but fine, I'm feeling fine! I uh… wrote the eulogy I will-uh deliver it tomorrow at the … funeral." Fang whispered the word funeral.

"Fang, it's okay to be upset. We all are. Please, Fang go to bed it's one in the morning. You really need to get some sleep." I yawned. "I'm not upset." I comforted Fang. "We all loved Iggy. All of us are upset. So just admit that you're upset, because I know that you are." Fang threw the photo album on the floor.

"This is all your fault!" I stared at him quizzically. "My fault? My fault? How the – I mean are you crazy?" I knew that he was going through a lot and that I shouldn't add to it, but I was too overcome with my emotions to stop. I mean how dare he? I was trying to help him and he attacks me!

"This is all your fault because it was you made our lives so difficult. Then maybe, just maybe if it weren't for you we wouldn't be compelled to drag race. And if you weren't so stubborn, we'd still be in Tennessee!" I stomped my foot.

"That is so much of a stretch. If you wanted to blame anyone blame yourself. Even if it weren't for me you still would be a crazy, stupid idiot. And that's an understatement. You were driving Iggy in the first place. You killed him." Fang stared at me. "Well go to hell!" I was shocked. He did not just say that. I clenched my fists.

"Guys, I thought hell was a bad word." Angel was standing in her nightgown rubbing her eyes. Fang and I turned to her. "How long were you standing there?" I asked. "Only since you started fighting." I slapped my hand on my forehead.

"Angel why don't you go off to bed? We have a big day tomorrow." I said. "It could've been avoided, though _Max_." I swear if Angle weren't right there, I'd punch Fang so hard. Instead, I bit my tongue and guided Angel to back to the room we were sharing with Nudge.

Angel sat up on her bed. "Max, I'm really sad about all of this. I can't believe that I'll never see Iggy again not until I get to heaven. Also I'm scared. I'm scared that I will die. I thought that usually it was old people that died." I hadn't realized the effect that this was having on Angel. After all, she was only nine and she was losing someone so close to her so young. I gave Angel a hug and comforted her.

"Angel, what happened to Iggy was a fluke, the chance of you dying is very little. Now try to think of something happy so you can sleep tonight." I tucked Angel in and then tried to fall asleep again.

"Max, do you think that Iggy is watching us from heaven now?" Angel asked sleepily. "I'm sure he is." I drifted off to sleep and woke up at seven.

"Max, hurry up. We have to be at the funeral home in thirty minutes." Nudge was shaking me. "I have a black dress you can borrow. I hope it will fit." She tossed the most hideous dress ever. Nudge definitely wasn't known for her sense of style.

A black limousine came and picked us up. Fang and I glared at each other. "I'm not riding with him." I protested. Nudge looked at us strait in the eyes. "Listen to me, both of you. Angel told me about your fight. Fight if you must about such a stupid thing. But this isn't about you. This is about Iggy. We are honoring Iggy, not focusing on you." She paused.

"You will be civil to each other for the remainder of the day or I swear that I will knock your heads together." We remained silent for the rest of the ride.

Amazingly, we arrived at the funeral home ten minutes early. "Miss Max, Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, Fang, I'm extremely sorry about your loss."

"Thanks." We said to the man in charge of the funeral home. We stood in the lobby waiting for the guests to arrive.

There wasn't a large crowd, maybe fifteen, twenty maximum in the small room. It was decorated with pictures of Iggy, had a few rows of pews, and was well-stocked with tissues.

We started the funeral off with some prayers and then it was time for fang to deliver the eulogy. "Iggy was a great guy. Cool, fun, and the best friend I could ever have…" I stared off into space remembering all of the times I had with Iggy. I had to get up and get a tissue.

"…thank you all for being here today and thanks for honoring Iggy." Fang walked down from the podium and we all went into a separate room to pay our respects to him with an open casket ceremony.

I hugged Iggy. "You're in a better place now. I just wish you could have remained with us longer." I couldn't take anymore than five minutes so I left the room and thought to myself, _I hadn't seen Iggy in years. Then I get to see him and he is taken away from us._ "What kind of cruel teaser is this!?" I screamed. I ran outside and sat on the bench for a long time. I couldn't even go to the burial.

Eventually Nudge came out and made me get up. "Let's go home." She walked me to her house. "Would you like to go with us?" She asked.

"Where?" Nudge looked at me. "We, Gazzy, Fang, Angel, and I are going to honor Iggy's last wishes. Gazzy found the map to the island he was talking about. We are going to terminate the scientific missions or whatever cruel things they do on that island."

"I'm in." I said without hesitation. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as we find a pilot. You might want to get packing." Nudge turned the key and walked into her apartment. I lay down on my bed. There was a note attached to a box it read: _Iggy was not yet of age and therefore he had no legal will. However, these are a few things we think he'd like you to have. Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy._

I noticed that Fang's signature was missing. "Max. Max." Nudge called. I closed the box and decided to look through it later. "Max, get your stuff ready. We're leaving tonight."


	5. Iggy's Secret

Chapter 5: Iggy's Secret

"We were able to find a pilot. Turns out, my friend Becky from last year, her dad is on a week off and is a licensed pilot. He flies in his free time." Nudge explained as she helped me pack.

"Apparently, Becky and her mother are away so he doesn't mind. It's too bad you didn't pack enough." I sighed.

"This shouldn't take too long. Besides, we do have school…" I drifted off and thought about everything that happened in the past few days. "I'm glad that we're fulfilling Iggy's last wishes."

"Yeah." Nudge's eyes wandered off. "Anyway, we should go now. Did you open the box of Iggy's things yet?" I shook my head. "Open it. Trust me, it will make you feel closer to him." I opened the box.

There was Iggy's mp3player, a few books he had, and hey a journal! No, not a journal, a diary! Iggy kept a diary? I opened the diary. It had writing in it from when he was ten! I looked at his squiggly letters.

_I always wished that I could see. My blindness always separated me from the Flock and everyone else. But today, today I've come to realize that it's not me that's missing out, but them. _

_They can see colors and beautiful art_

_I can see what's in people's hearts_

_They can see the beauty of others_

_I can see the beauty within_

_They all pity me for my loss of sight_

_I realize that they are wrong, not right_

_For they see what I cannot do_

_I look and see what much more I can ~Iggy _

Iggy wrote poetry! To think, he wrote that when he was only ten! He was a poet. He hid his gift from us. Maybe he would've become a poet. I thought about it and got all chocked up. "Max! Max, come on, we're leaving!" I hid the diary under my sweater and headed outside.

We took the bus and walked three blocks to the private airport. Our pilot greeted us and led us to our plane. It was tiny, rusted, and had propellers but the inside was better. There were nice leather seats and leg room.

As the plane took off, I decided to tell Nudge about the diary. "Then, I saw pages and pages of poetry. You have to read it." Nudge sighed. "I never thought of him as a poet. I wonder why he never told us. I guess it's kind of weird to think of him as a poet. I mean come on, he's well, he shouldn't be writing poetry."

"Who's a poet?" Fang asked. "None of your beeswax. He wouldn't want you to read the poetry." Fang snickered. "It's a guy! So he writes about butterflies and fairies, and rainbows. Let me meet him. I can't wait to kick his butt!" I punched Fang and he ran off to tell Gazzy.

"That's why. Maybe we don't know Iggy at all. Maybe he had to hide his talents because of some immature idiot! I think this diary left us another way to fulfill his wishes. Nudge we must read these poems. Perhaps we could send them into a poetry journal!"

"Maybe we shouldn't. You know how writers are, very private and shy. Maybe you shouldn't have read his diary at all!" I stared at her. "You guys gave it to me. Come on, I was just skimming and it caught my eye."

"I still think that out of respect for him, you shouldn't read his diary. Don't make me take it away from you." Nudge stared me down and I put Iggy's diary away in my suitcase. Wow. Maybe Fang wasn't Iggy's friend. Maybe he was just what prevented Iggy from living up to his full potential.

"Max! Max! Look I'm king of the world." Gazzy stood on his seat. "Gazzy sit down. What if we go through turbulence?" Fang gave me a harsh look and muttered something like, "You ruin everything for everyone."

For the rest of the ride, I thought about Iggy's diary. I wanted to read it. What other talents did he possess? Was he a singer, a dancer, a composer? I wondered what other secrets were locked away inside his diary until we finally landed.

"Well, here you go. Are you sure your uncle lives here? It looks kind of abandoned." I looked at him quizzically and Nudge elbowed me. "Oh yeah. He's a loner, but don't worry. He's here. He'll fly us back home. Thank you, Mr. James. Tell Becky I said hi."

Mr. James waved goodbye and flew off. "Why did you tell him that?"

"He wouldn't fly us here if he knew that we'd be in danger! Besides, we couldn't risk anyone finding out. We want to surprise them. Fang thought it would be a good idea." I glared at Fang. "Where's the map?"

"Hold on." Fang opened his suitcase. "I know it's around here somewhere." He violently threw his stuff all over the place. "Here it is."

"Can I hold it?" Angel asked. "No fair! I want to see it." Gazzy grabbed it from Fang's hand. "Come on guys, you can take turns. Now let's find the lab."


	6. Labs, Huts, and Romance

Chapter 6: Labs, Huts, and Romance

The island wasn't very big. Probably two miles across at the thickest point, maybe three at the most. We came across what looked to be a little abandoned village after about fifteen minutes of exploring the island.

"Who do you think lived here?" I asked. "Probably the scientists. Let's explore the houses." Nudge said. I walked inside one of the tiny structures.

It as built of a type of brick, made out of sand and coral I'm guessing. It had only one room which served as an all-in-one room. The bed was maybe an inch off of the floor and was made of woven leaves and grasses and had a pillow stuffed with dry grass.

There was also an unstable looking table made of wood. I tapped it. Maybe it was sturdier than I thought. "Check this out!" I heard Fang call.

I ran towards Fang. "What?" I called. "There's a secret room." Sure enough, he was right. Apparently, after digging through the sand, there was a trap door with a ladder leading down to it made of tree branches.

"Come down!" Nudge called. I looked uneasily at the ladder. "Chicken." Fang yelled. "No." Fang made chicken noises. "Shut up! Ugh fine. If it supported your weight it will support mine." I cautiously stepped on the ladder.

It shook and then collapsed. I fell down about ten feet with a loud crash. Fang snickered.

"What is this place?"

"I don't know. It's empty." Nudge said. "Say, where are Gazzy and Angel?"

"I don't know, I thought that they were with you." I replied. "Now we can't get back up." Fang glared at me. "No kidding, fatso." I kicked him where it hurt and called Angel and Gazzy.

"ANGEL, GAZZY!" I screamed. Great. I looked at the steep walls. "Who built these huts anyway?"

"Well, probably not the scientists. I mean there's no scientific thingies, no technology, no books, fizzing chemicals that kind of stuff. Maybe there were natives on this island or maybe there was a plane crash." Nudge said.

"Nudge, Fang, Max?" Angel and Gazzy were staring down at us. "There you are. Help us out." I said. "How did you get down there?"

"It doesn't matter, just help us out." Gazzy thought. "I know. We can pull you up. Nudge, climb on top of Fang's head, Fang you get on Max's head."

"Hey!" Fang said. Nudge stabled herself and climbed on Fang's head. "Come on Max." I carefully climbed to Nudge's head. "Ow! You kicked me!" Nudge exclaimed. "Sorry." Gazzy grabbed my arms and pulled me back to safety.

I reached down, almost falling, and pulled Nudge up. "How are you going to pull me up?" Fang asked. "Didn't think of that. Hmm…" Fang uttered a series of curse words. "FANG!" Angel and Gazzy's eyes opened wide.

"I know!" Angel exclaimed. There we were on the sand floor. I was holding onto Nudge's legs, she was holding onto Angel's, and Angel was holing onto Gazzy's. I swear, we must've looked ridiculous as we slowly lowered Gazzy, then Angel, then Nudge into the trap door.

Slowly, we pulled Fang up. We were all covered in sand. "Are you sure that Iggy was right about the lab being on _this_ island?" I asked. Fang grabbed me shirt. "Don't you go doubting Iggy. He was on this island. I think he'd know. He's not stupid. I know him better than any of you."

"Okay, okay." _But you may not know him as much as you think._ I thought about the poetry that I saw in Iggy's diary. "I'm sure it's on this island. We should explore it more. I'm sure we'll find it."

We left the village area, and headed to the other side of the island. "I'm sorry Fang, we've been looking for an hour. No lab."

"It's got to be here." Fang protested. "I'm sure it is." Angle said. "Iggy wouldn't lie." We all nodded. "Maybe they destroyed it." Nudge suggested. "Maybe, I guess we can't fulfill Iggy's last wish. Let's fly home tomorrow."

"Wait, maybe it's in that cave!" Fang pointed. "Fang, that cave's way to tiny to be the lab. I mean look at the entrance way. Even Angel couldn't fit in there, unless she crawled. I'm sorry."

Fang stared at the sunset. "Come on, we should head back to the village before it gets dark. We can sleep there for tonight. I don't want to be exploring the island at night." Nudge said. Fang sighed.

We found our way back to the tiny village. We each had out own hut. Nudge gave us candy bars to eat for dinner. After that, we put our suitcases into our huts and changed into our pajamas.

The sun was barely noticeable as it was about to sink beneath the calm water. I noticed Fang sitting on a rock by the beach.

"Fang?" I headed over to him. "Oh, hey Max." He sighed. "You're sure that there is a lab on this island, aren't you." I said. He nodded. "I just have a feeling. You know that night in the hospital when Iggy and I were making bombs? He told me to use one of them on the lab. According to him, the lab was still up and at large."

"I mean they had to have a place, somewhere that no government would look. Iggy said that all of those new experiments reported in the paper, they were coming from somewhere unidentified. He was sure it was the lab. By the descriptions of the victims. He wouldn't send us here if he weren't sure."

"Fang, if you're this sure, than I think that we shouldn't give up. We have to find it. Or at least look for a little longer." Fang looked at me gratefully. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, that night in the living room."

"Me too." We didn't say anything for about five more minutes. "You know, this unset really enhances the color of your hair." The cool evening ocean breeze swept across my hair. I touched Fang's face.

I hadn't realized how handsome he was. His dark hair moved along as the breeze passed through it. I stared into his eyes and he stared into mine. I felt a feeling, a feeling that was hard to describe. All that I could say, was that I felt sudden pangs of lust and love for Fang.

As our lips were about to meet, thoughts danced through me head. I could almost feel his lips.

"Fang, Angel?" It was Nudge. What a great way to wreck a perfect moment. "Oh, there you are. Um, it's getting dark and we didn't know where you were so we were wondering if you'd like to turn in for the night. Um, back as you were, yeah." I could see the shock on Nudge's face.

Fang and I headed back to the village. As I entered the hut, I thought of Fang. If only, we had one more second…

I lay down on the woven mat and used one of my sweaters as a blanket. I couldn't fall asleep. Every thought in my mind lead to Fang. I sighed.

After a few hours, thinking of- guess who, I drifted off to sleep.


	7. All I need is a Miracle

**Sorry for taking so long.  
**

* * *

Chapter 7: The Cave

"Wake up, Max." It was Nudge. "What?" I muttered sleepily. "Come on, we're leaving today, right?"

"No, Fang and I decided that we'd search the island for the lab a little bit more." Nudge stared at me blankly. "I didn't tell you? Well now you know." I yawned. "We've searched the island already. We would've found a lab, or seen someone if the lab was still occupied. Face it, the lab is either gone or was never here." Nudge sighed.

"I suppose that we could search one more day, but remember, we're running low on supplies so we can't stay here too long!"

"I still have an outfit for tomorrow, and I have a water bottle but that's it- you're right, Nudge. Well hopefully we'll find it today. I know that Fang's not leaving until we find the lab. And I'm not leaving until Fang leaves."

"Oh course not, lovebird." I gave her a dirty look and grabbed my clothes. "We'll search the cave we found yesterday." Nudge rolled her eyes. "I guess I'd better bring my flashlight." I nodded.

"Ugh. Fine. I'll tell everyone about the change of plans." Nudge stomped out while I changed. Nudge did have a point. But still, Fang…

I picked up Iggy's diary and found another poem called, "_Nudge's Song._" I wanted to read it, but Nudge called my name. I slipped the diary in my pocket and headed outside of the hut and gathered with the rest of the Flock. "Let's start our searching." I said.

"Why are we doing this?" Angel asked. "I thought we were going back today. You promised."

"We decide to give it one last shot, okay." I walked over to Fang. He looked nervous and a little troubled. "What's wrong?" He stared awkwardly at me. Obviously, what happened last night had not really processed into our minds yet.

"I'm worried. What if we don't find the lab? I mean I know Iggy's right, but what if there is no lab? Is this making any sense?" I nodded. "You're considering the what-ifs. Don't worry, we will find the lab. We will fulfill Iggy's dying wish."

"I think Nudge is right, she told me that we would've found a lab by now." Fang lowered his head. "Well, it does make ssense that the lab would be hidden, I mean it is a secret lab. they would want to hide it somewhere where planes flying over and ships passing by wouldn't see. The cave!" A lightbulb went off in my head.

"From yesterday, it has to be there!" I beamed with delight. "You're a genius." Fang was about to give me a hug to congratulate me, but stopped midway and just high-fived me.

Fang and I remained quiet until we passed by the cave we found yesterday. "Let's go in." Fang said. "It's dark in there." Gazzy complained. "Don't be such a scaredy cat!" Angel said.

"I'm not scared, I was just saying that it was dark!" Nudge looked at Fang and whispered, "Gazzy's scared, we can't make him go in there!" There was a slight trace of fear in her voice.

"Well, than he can stay out here." Gazzy shuddered. "All by myself?" Fang started towards the cave.

"Fang…" I started. "No. I'm searching in there. I'm not leaving this island until we search that cave. If you guys don't want to come, I'll search myself. Iggy would've wanted it."

"We'll come; all of us, but first let's get some breakfast. I'm out of protein and candy bars. Now what?!" Nudge screamed.

"What about that coconut tree? It has three coconuts, but they're big." Gazzy said. " Except they're too high up."

"No problemo." Fang took out the slingshot Iggy left him and shot down a coconut. Some of the coconut milk spilled on the sand. "Now we don't have to break it open." He shot down the other two. "Let's go."

I took a bite of the coconut. It was the best coconut I had ever had. It was sweet and flaverful, but was very filling. I decided to save the rest for later.

We had to crawl in the sand to fit into the small, rocky entrance. "Ow!" Gazzy screamed. He hit his head on the cave ceiling. When we got in, we were surprised to see that the cave ceiling was about ten feet high.

There were two tunnels. "Which one do you think we should go in?" Fang finally asked. "How about the right one" Angel said. "Why?"

"I just like the right side better." Fang rolled his eyes. "I guess we could go there first. Maybe the tunnels connect at the end."

It turned out that that tunnel lead to three more passageways. "Great." Just then we heard a rumble. "W-what was that?" Gazzy came running up to us. "We're trapped in here! The rocks- they –fell…"

"Gazzy, what happened. Please take a deep breath and tell us calmly." I said.

"Well, I went back that way to let one rip, and well… rocks started falling." We eyed him angrily. "You farted and trapped us in here. Nice going Gazzy." Nudge said. "It's okay, maybe we can shift the rock."

We rushed back to the entrance. I put my coconut on the floor and tried to move some the rocks. "It won't budge!"

"Now we're trapped in the cave. Who knows what could be in there. What if there are bats?" Angel screamed. "There probably aren't bats. But seriously, if we calm down and just think I'm sure we can find a solution." I tried to keep my voice level, but I couldn't control the shakiness.

We were trapped. We had no food or drinks but half a coconut, and a bottle of water. It would take a miracle for us to live another week.

* * *

**Please Review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	8. Ghost of Caves' Past

**Chapter 8: Ghost of Cave's Past  
**

"Max, I'm scared." Gazzy said. "And you wouldn't have to be if you didn't trap us in here!" Angel screamed. "Guys, guys calm down! This isn't helping."

"Well, we _are _trapped. We might as well search for the lab." Fang headed further into the tunnel on the right. Nudge pulled his shirt. "Hold on a second. Shouldn't some of us stay here and try to shift the rock. I mean, well, in case there isn't a lab here or we don't find it..." Nudge trailed off.

"First of all, there is a lab here! Second of all, we already tried, Nudge. It's a lost cause." Fang retorted as if it was the stupidest thing he ever heard. "Let's go." We all followed Fang.

"Are we there yet?" Gazzy asked. "NO! You'll know when we get there, trust me!" We had been walking for twenty minutes now and hadn't come across anything yet except the limestone walls and ceiling and the occasional bit or tiny rock. We were all on the moody side, considering how tired, hungry, and thirsty we were.

"Find anything good yet?" Nudge moaned. "Ooh! Ooh!" Angel screamed excitedly. "What? What?" She picked up a necklace made of coral and seashell. "Can I keep it?" She put it around her neck. "Sure."

"Wait a minute- that means someone was in this cave before." Fang smiled eagerly, but his face quickly dropped. "I doubt it was a scientist. It probably belonged to one of those natives. You know the ones whose huts we stayed in."

"I wonder what happened to the natives. Maybe they all died in a terrible storm." Nudge suggested. "They probably just died out over the years. They might have lived here tens of centuries ago. We don't know." Fang stomped his foot. "ANYWAY! We have to find the lab. I'm _not_ leaving until we do."

"Duh! None of us are. We're trapped, Einstein." Nudge retorted. We headed forward when I felt a pull on my sleeve.

"I'm scared. It's getting really, really dark." Gazzy said. I patted him on the shoulder. "Nudge, didn't you say you were going to bring a flashlight?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to waste the battery. Who knows how long we'll be trapped in this stupid cave." I patted Gazzy on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, but she's right. We should only use it in an emergency."

"But I'm scared!" Gazzy cried. "Then count backwards from a hundred and shut up!" Fang cried. "But I can't count backwards that high." Fang moaned impatiently. "Then learn!" Gazzy knew not to argue anymore.

"One Hundred- uh- uh ninety-nine!" Gazzy kept this up for another ten minutes.

"Nudge get out your flashlight. I think we've reached the end of the cave." It was a great relief to get some light on the subject, but not when we realized that we had reached the end. Nudge turned off the flashlight and Fang screamed a curse word.

"What does #~!* mean?" Angel asked. I gave Fang a dirty look, though I doubted that he could see it in the dark. "It means that Fang doesn't know that we're in mixed company!"

"Now what?" Nudge asked. "We go back and try the left side. _That's _what we do."

Fang started back. I was getting very tired of walking but I knew how important this was to Fang and how important it should be to us. "I'm hungry!" Gazzy shouted. Of course. He was going through his growth spurt. I should've seen this coming.

"All we have is a half of a coconut. Can't you wait a little while longer? Perhaps until dinner? We need to conserve food. Who knows how long we'll be here?" Gazzy stomped his feet. "No. I'm hungry now. Now!"

"You're acting like such a baby." Angel said. "No I'm not, no I'm not, NO I'M NOT!" Gazzy yelled into her face. "Yes you are, yes you are, yes you are, _baby_."

"Stop it you two! I'm tired of listening to your stupid arguments. Let's just give Gazzy the coconut and move on! I want to find this lab as soon as possible." Fang screamed. "It's only 2:00PM. We really shouldn't eat yet. Seriously, can't you wait?" Nudge checked her glow-in-the-dark digital watch.

Gazzy was about to scream. "Fine. Take your stupid coconut. Just don't eat it all! Will that make you happy, you immature brat?" Everyone stared at me. I immediately felt guilty for screaming at Gazzy.

"Look, we're all a little edgy-" I started. "Especially you." I took a deep breath. "Shut up Nudge. No one asked you. Anyway, let's just calm ourselves down and continue our search. This is very important. We're fulfilling Iggy's last wish." No one said anything for two minutes.

"Here we are. Back where we started." Nudge said. "Can we please take a rest?"

"No. We must go on." Fang said. "Fang, we'll search much better if we just rest for a few hours, okay." Fang was about to protest, but then agreed. I sat down on the cold, damp cave floor. It felt good to finally sit down and collect my thoughts.

I wondered what Iggy would think about all of this. Would he like the fact that we were trying this hard to fulfill his final wish? If he were here, this whole experience would've been much more enjoyable.

He'd lighten the atmosphere up a bit, Fang wouldn't be as grumpy, and we'd probably all be a lot happier. Of course, if Iggy were here, we wouldn't be doing this.

I rested my head on a lump of soft limestone and took a nap. I dreamt that we were still in the school. Iggy was there. Even though we were miserable, we were happy. We were all together. All of us.

"Max, Max! Wake up. It's tomorrow morning already." Nudge was shaking me. I yawned. "Really?"

"Yeah. Fang's waiting impatiently." I got up slowly only to listen to Fang screaming at me about how behind schedule we were.

"It doesn't matter, we're trapped. We have all of the time in the world." Fang didn't like that answer and abruptly pulled me up by the shirt collar. He quickly let go. "Oh Max, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah fine…" Nudge snickered. "Uh, right then let's continue then… moving on." We headed down the left side tunnel. This one had and extremely low ceiling and I could barely stand, while Fang had to duck the entire time.

"Max, I here footsteps." Angel said. "Oh, it's just you're imagination." Angel grabbed on to me. "No Max, I _heard_ footsteps. Loud footsteps."

"Just try not to think of it." We continued on when I heard something. Probably just a part of the ceiling that fell down. I heard something which sounded like frantic footsteps. Max, now you're imagining things.

"Max I heard them again." Angel said. Maybe we were both imagining. "I heard them too." Nudge said. Okay, I was definitely not imagining the noise I heard.

"It's probably just the wind." Fang said. "Yeah, but we're in a cave and there's no outside air source! The entrance is blocked and we already saw the end of the cave." Nudge said. "It's not the wind."

"I am the ghost of the cave's past. Beware! I will get you, I will get all of you! You have entered my cave! Exit or you all shall die like all of those who entered before you." It was a weird-sounding high-pitched voice. Because the cave was so echoie, we had no idea where the sound came from.

"You will meet the same fate as the natives who entered before you. Ten years to this day." Angel clenched her coral necklace.

"Leave!" Angel was about to cry. "But we're trapped."

"You've been warned…"


	9. Caving in

**Please review!**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Caving in**

"Wait a minute, where is Gazzy?" Nudge tiptoed. "I'll be right back." Where was she going? "Beware… hey!" We heard loud footsteps coming towards us. Angel's teeth were chattering loudly as she grabbed onto me.

All of the sudden, Nudge came while dragging Gazzy by his ear. "Here's the spirit of the cave you guys were looking for." Gazzy smiled sheepishly. "I was just kidding. You know, we were all so serious and, well I thought I'd lighten the mood-" Fang came over to Gazzy and hit him in the stomach.

"Fang!" Fang ignored me. "He set us behind schedule. I swear, that son of a b-" I interrupted him before he could teach the younger ones any colorful vocabulary. "Fang, we don't have a schedule. We have plenty of time, infinite until we die in here- Now, let's continue on after Gazzy apologizes of course." Gazzy looked down as we all stared at him.

"Sorry." Gazzy said meekly. "Sorry won't cut it! Do the chicken dance! Embarrass yourself like you embarrassed us." Gazzy looked to the floor. "Fang!" I elbowed him. "Oh fine..." Fang muttered something as we continued walking.

We continued without stopping until we reached the end of the cave again. "I'm sorry Fang…" I started. I put my hand on his shoulder, but he pushed it off. "Well, once we get out of here we'll search the island again."

"I'm sorry; I need a moment to myself. Please head back to the entrance of the cave. I'll meet you there. Try to move some of the rocks if possible and then get some rest. I'm sorry for dragging you here."

"You did the right thing." Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel headed to the entrance. "Come _on _Max." I started with them, but hesitated. "Hold on, I think I dropped something. I'll meet you at the entrance." I ran back to where Fang was.

I could hear him sobbing. "I was so sure! So sure." I patted him on the shoulder. "What don't you understand about needing a minute alone?" I cautiously stepped back. "I completely respect that, but I think that you need to talk." I couldn't stand seeing him so upset. THere was something about him that wouldn't let me leave him be.

"Yes Max! That's all I need. You think that you're a miracle worker. Some type of therapist or something. Well, let me tell you. You're not. Now, leave me be!"

"Fang stop it. There's still hope left that we'll find the lab." Fang shook his head violently. "No. No there isn't. This isn't some movie where there's some secret lab or some secret cavern or anything. This isn't a movie. This doesn't have to have a happy ending. It was stupid of me to even come here!"

"Fang, I now completely understand your viewpoint." I started. "No you don't, Max." I paused. "I understand how hard this is for you..." Fang pouted. "I was completely wrong about everything!"

"Fang, I mean you were right, before. Iggy wouldn't have lied to us. He wouldn't have told us unless he was sure that the lab was still in existence. He wouldn't put us through any unnecessary danger. That, I'm sure of."

"You're right Max. I just am really frustrated. Frustrated that I'm the only one taking this seriously, frustrated that it was taking so long."

"Well, now I'm taking this seriously, too. We will find the lab, Fang. I promise you that. Now let's head back."

"You know Max; someday you'd make a great therapist." I smiled awkwardly. "Uh, thanks?" We laughed and then headed to the entrance of the cave.

"Max, come here… I want to see something." She turned her flashlight to me and motioned for me to follow her. Once we were a good five minutes away from the entrance, she stopped walking.

"Max, do you still have Iggy's diary?" I nodded and pulled it out of my pocket. "There was something that I've been wanting to check. I wanted to read that poem again. I snuck into your hut one night and read a poem called _Nudge: The Jewel of the Meadow_. I didn't search through or anything like that, I just read that one."

"Listen, he compared me to a pink rose. '_Nudge, though is like the pink rose. Standing out from the rest of the flowers only to shine its own beauty. Though it is a different kind of beauty, it is still exquisite. It shines brightly, standing out from the rest…_'" Nudge sighed romantically. "He was so sweet!"

"Well, the poem is dated only a year ago. He also wrote it on your birthday! Hey, wait a minute, there's more!" We both read:

_Unfortunately, as with all flowers, they get picked. Picked by other men. I was always afraid of the thorns. I never took my chance. I can never have her she doesn't love me, although some nights I dream, dream that I'm on a soft meadow and there's the pink rose. Maybe someday… _

"Why did he think that I'd never love him?" I thought. "You never showed interest! Remember all of the times he tried to get your attention. Remember how he played all of those practical jokes on you- in particular. He was trying to get your attention. He loved you but-" Nudge interrupted. "But he thought that I didn't see him that way. I didn't really love him until last year…"

"I wonder what would've happened if he had shown that poem to you." Nudge smiled. "That would have won me over. If only I had known how he felt. I always told myself that it would never work out between us. He was almost four years older than me."

Nudge flipped to the next page. "He wrote about all of his emotions. He wrote about the conflicts within himself. Check this one out: _Betrayed from Within_.

"'…_I can never be whole again for I was betrayed from within, from within myself. I set myself up for failure. I created a storm inside of me. I betrayed my conscience…_'" Nudge burst into tears. "Why did he have to die so young?" I put my hand on her shoulder. "Let's go." I put Iggy's diary back into my pocket.

When we arrived back at the entrance, everyone was sound asleep. We had all had a very tiring day. I rested my head on the ground and drifted off to sleep.

I dreamt about Iggy. The strange thing was that the entire dream was in poetry and was narrated by him which was weird because he was in the dream not an outside character.

Iggy was an amazing poet, yet he never took a poetry class ever. I had taken poetry two summers ago, but I quit the class after a month because I just couldn't write at all. Iggy never shared his poetry at all, but his were amazing. I always shared my poetry but mine was downright terrible.

Why is it that these most amazing poets were underappreciated or unknown until their death? Why did it take death for everyone to discover the poets' true gifts?

I sighed. My stomach growled. I was starving. I hadn't eaten in a while and we had no food left. Wee had to find our way out of this cave or let's face it we'd all die. If we all died, the world would never know of us, the lab, or of Iggy's poetry. We had to survive. Survival was not an option.

"Max, Max!" I heard Angel scream. "Max! the- the cave- it's collapsing-, it's caving in on us. Max, we have to take cover!"

I quickly sat up. Bits of pieces of limestone from the ceiling were falling. Nudge grabbed me. "Come on!"

Angel motioned for me to follow her to a tiny crevice. I ran towards her and covered my head. "Gazzy! He's trapped under the debris!"

"Oh my gosh! Fang help Gazzy." Fang frantically tried to move the rocks off of Gazzy. "They're too heavy!"

"Take cover!" Nudge pulled Fang to safety. After the rocks stopped falling, we frantically rushed over to Gazzy. "Gazzy? Gazzy? Gazzy! Answer me!" Gazzy remained silent. "Gazzy!" Angel hugged him.

"Come on Gazzy!" I shook him. Still no response. This was definitely not good.


	10. Stewed Tomatoes Make You Sick

**Chapter 10: Stewed Tomatoes Make You Sick**

"His heart is still beating faintly and he is still breathing." Fang reported. I shook my head. "We have to find help." I said. "Great idea Max, just one thing: which of the many talented doctors on this island to choose?" Nudge remarked. I rolled my eyes. "Thank you Nudge, for pointing that out to me." I said sarcastically.

"Enough! We have to find the lab." Fang stood up. "Hello, that's what I've been trying to _tell _you!" I rolled my eyes. "I mean, we have to find the lab. I'm sure they have some medical supplies. If there's anyone there, they will help us, they'll have to."

"There's been no sign of anyone else on the island. This isn't _Lost_, Max. But you're right, finding the lab will be our best hope." Nudge turned to Angel, who was kneeling by her brother, crying her eyes out. "Gazzy!"

"Angel, I think we should go. That way, we can find help for Gazzy, okay sweetie?" I softly touched her shoulder. "Okay." Her voice came out in a soft whisper.

"I think our only hope is to check for clues…" I trailed off and wound up in a coughing fit. My throat was feeling awfully dry. I could really use a drink, stat! "Are you okay?" Nudge asked. "Fine." I replied.

"Hmm…AHH!" Fang screamed. "What, what? Are you okay?"

"Dammit! How many times will I fall down into holes?" I rushed over to Fang. He fell into a hole made by the cave in. "Hey! Check this out!" I looked down. There was a chamber below the cave.

I slowly let myself down. "Come on!" I called for Nudge and Angel. I looked around. There were a few lamps on the walls.

"Someone must have been here recently. The lamps would've run out of battery. They certainly aren't solar charged." Nudge observed. "Let's find the lab! I think it's that way! Let's go." Angel pointed.

We headed down the dark walkway. "All of this is under the cave? Fang, do you know what this means?" I asked excitedly. "Yes, Iggy is probably right. I assume this leads to the lab, but you never know."

We remained silent, but I felt Fang reach for my hand. I smiled for a second, but then he pulled away. Was he afraid to love me? Why was he having reservations? Am I overreacting? Does he think this much about _me_?

"Max, could you carry Gazzy, I'm getting tired." I nodded as Nudge handed me Gazzy. He felt a little cold. I could feel his heart beating very faintly. Oh Gazzy.

All of the sudden, I felt his heart stop. "Oh my God! OH-MY-GOD!" I screamed. "Help, his heart, I need help!" Nudge took Angel away and covered her eyes.

I started doing chest compressions. "Let me help!" Fang pushed me aside. "Do mouth to mouth!" I obeyed Fang.

_Come on Gazzy, don't die on us. We need you. Gazzy, please pull this one through._ I prayed. "It's not working! We're losing him." My tears fell on Gazzy's stone-still face.

"Try harder! Try harder! Hurry!" We heard Nudge scream. "Come on, you can do this!" I kept trying. He wasn't going to make it! I started crying. I couldn't do it, I couldn't. "Don't worry Max, I can handle this." Fang pushed me aside.

I watched Fang start CPR as the tears streamed down my eyes. "I can't watch!" I walked over to Nudge and she patted me on the shoulder as we both cried our eyes out.

"I did it!" Fang celebrated. "He's still not conscience, but he's okay- for now. Come on, we have to find the lab. It's not only Gazzy's last hope, but ours too."

"How's Angel?" I whispered to Nudge. "Holding up." She replied.

"Hey! There are three different paths!" Fang said. "Now what do we do?" We thought. "We can split up." Nudge suggested. "No! That's a bad idea. No splitting up. We just have to pick one."

"Uh, the one on the far right." Fang suggested. I shrugged. I guess that was as good as any. "Let's go." All of the sudden my stomach growled.

"Man I'm starving!" When was the last time I ate? It had been almost two days! "Well, we don't have any food so you're just going to have to wait." Nudge said. "Thanks for being so sympathetic." I rolled my eyes. I was starting to feel lightheaded.

We kept on going. "Ow!" Fang screamed. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" I rushed over to him. "Today's your lucky day." He said. "Yours, but not mine. I think I broke my toe."

I looked around. On the wall was a huge shelf of cans. "Wow! I'm saved!" I screamed. "No, _we're_ saved! Food. Glorious food, everywhere!" Fang exclaimed.

"Hey, check it out, there's a kitchen." Nudge called. I looked to the left. There was a long table with ten chairs. "There's also bowls, plates, and silverware. I'm going to set the table." I was thrilled.

"What about Gazzy?" Angel asked. "Before we can save him, we need to eat. We'll be able to think clearer and we can focus more on helping Gazzy, rather than our hunger. Now, why don't you sit Gazzy down and help Nudge?" I answered.

"I can't find a can opener! This storeroom has proper dining ware, and a nice kitchen, tons of cans, but no can opener. What kind of storeroom doesn't have a can opener?" Nudge complained. I sighed. "Now what?"

"Allow me." Fang sunk his teeth into the can and slowly opened it. "Ow…" He handed me the can. I looked at him. "What, when you're hungry you'll do just about anything to get food." I rolled my eyes. "Let's see… _diet stewed tomatoes now without sodium_!" I read. Yuck! "Can we have something else?" I turned to Fang.

"I'm not opening another can. Man, I think I chipped a tooth! Also, how in the name of it can tomatoes be diet?" I shrugged. "Boń apetite." I said as I picked up my spoon and ate the tomatoes that Nudge plopped onto my plate.

One piece of advice: If you're going to fast, never break the fast on diet, sodium free, stewed tomatoes. I groaned. I was feeling sick to my stomach. I would be surprised if I didn't get food poisoning. I mean those tomatoes must have been prison food. I shuddered at the thought of that.

"Let's continue on." Nudge said. I slowly got up as we headed back to where the three different paths started. "This time let's go to the left." I said.

As we headed down the left side, we heard a voice. "Stop! Who goes there, tell me now. Who are you, is it you Dr.? Dr.?" The voice sounded like the voice of Jim Hinkey. Jim Hinkey was a kid in my class last year with a voice as squeaky as a graveyard door.

"I repeat who are you? Show yourselves or else…"


	11. Hydroponic Setbacks

**Chapter 11: Hydroponic Setbacks  
**

"Who are you?" Nudge asked. "I asked you first. Now show your selves or else…" Nudge rolled her eyes. "Or else what?"

"Just, hold on!" We heard footsteps approach us. A short and stubby man trudged toward us. He didn't look at all like I pictured him.

"What's your name?" Angel asked. "Fred. Tell me your names and why you are here. Go on. Don't make me call security." I looked at him. "Security, there are others here?" Fred stared at us.

"I'm Max and-" Fred interrupted me. "Oh my God! You, you're the, you have wings." We were used to people pointing that out. "That's right, we have wings, do you have a problem with that?" Nudge put her hands on her hips.

"Wait a minute! You're Max, Fang, the Gasman, Nudge, Iggy, and Angel." Fred exclaimed. "Yes, that's us except Iggy just died." Fang answered.

"You still haven't told me why you're here, in this cave." I hesitated, not wanting to give away too much. We had no idea who this Fred was. "We got trapped in here. Then Fang fell into a hole and we ended up down here."

"Also, my brother, Gazzy needs help! Can you help him?" Angel asked.

"We'll do what we can after you answer my question. Why you all on this island in the first place?" I paused. What should I say? "It's so terrible- I can't, can't go back there." Leave it to Nudge to help us She may be a pest, but she has her advantages. Nudge was tough, could persuade practically anyone, and definitely knew how to lie. Trust me, I know!

"We- we were in search of something for many years. An answer, if you will. We've searched the world, in case you haven't heard…" Nudge gave a dramatic sigh. "I've been on this island an awfully long time. News doesn't really reach me very often." Fred said.

"Anyway, the woman who took care of us before we searched the world had a connection here. She had always- always wanted us to come back here!"

"Really? What was her name?" Nudge froze for a second. "Well, um her name is- we called her Jessica. Yeah, Jessica. Do you know her?" Fred thought for a second.

"Jessica? Oh. She never seemed like the type to take care of your sort and such. Well, I guess I could take you to the headquarters…" Fred said.

"Can you help Gazzy?" Angel asked Fred. "Yes, as soon as we get to the common room." He assured.

"Oh thank you!" I cried. As we headed down the passageway I asked Nudge, "Jessica?"

"First name I could think of. Also, it is a pretty common name." I shook my head. "But why did you lie?" Angel asked.

"You see Angel, sometimes people have to lie. We had to make him feel bad for us and we had to make him think that we were on his side or part of his group. I guess it worked." Nudge gave herself a pat on the back.

"Yeah, but what if there was no Jessica here and he's playing along? He might be taking us to- who knows where?!" Fang said a little too loudly.

"What was that?" Fred asked. "Nothing. Just nothing." Fang stuttered. "Hmm…" Fred said suspiciously. "Well, anyway we're almost there. We are almost at the common room where Jessica sat everyday."

Fred turned the key into the keyhole, typed in something on a number pad, and then opened a door to what looked like a large living room. It had a fake fireplace, a few couches, a coffee table, and some bookcases.

"Mr. Greensworth?" Fred called. "Mr. Greensworth?" Nudge made herself at home on the couch and rested her feet on the coffee table while we waited.

All of the sudden, we heard footsteps. A fat, short man, with a pudgy face waddled into the living room where we stood. "What the heck is going on here? Who are they? Where the heck did all of this rubbish come from?"

"Mr. Greensworth, sir…" The man put his stubby finger on Fred's mouth. "Silence." He then turned and started toward Nudge. "Get your shoes off of my mother's coffee table! It's an antique, you idiot!" Nudge just stared at him. "NOW!"

"Geez!" She muttered. "What was that? I swear, I ought 'ta kick your-"

"Assimiel don't! I mean, Mr. Greensworth…" Fred started. "Assimiel!" Fang laughed as I kicked him. "What?"

"Will you excuse us for a second." Fred led Mr. Greensworth into a small coatroom and shut the door.

"That was weird." Angel remarked. Angel then took Gazzy from my arms and set him down on the couch. I wanted to head over there and comfort her, but I hesitated. She definitely needed a moment alone.

"Oh, I didn't know you knew Jessica! I'm so sorry, make yourselves comfortable! Now, Fred weren't you just heading into the storeroom to make us some lunch weren't you?" Mr. Greensworth and Fred emerged from the coatroom.

"Well, I was going to get some chocolate bars, but um… yeah, I'll just get some lunch. What do you want?" Fred turned to us.

"Oh, we're not hungry." I still felt sick to my stomach from the tomatoes. "Yes we are." Fang and Nudge said.

"Okay. How about some spam and canned pineapples?" Fang shrugged. "Um okay." Fang and Nudge headed into the kitchen with Fred, while Angel, Gazzy, and I stayed with Mr. Greensworth.

"Can you help my brother?" Angel asked. Mr. Greensworth bent down. "Hmm… I suppose so. Let's take him into the medical room. Maybe our nurse, Julia, can help him. Please stay here, though."

"But why?" Angel asked. "Just because you know Jessica doesn't mean we can trust you. You're lucky that we're letting Gazzy in there. There is a lot of confidential stuff in there. About our project, if course. I will inform you of Gazzy's progress as often as possible. I can assure you that."

"Okay." Mr. Greensworth carried Gazzy in his arms and took him through another door.

Angel paced nervously until Fred, Nudge, and Fang came back. "Where's Gazzy?" Fang asked. "Mr. Greensworth took him to the hospital."

"He did? What!" Fred exclaimed. "Listen, we have no idea why you have to be so secret about everything. We aren't spies or anything of that sort." I yelled.

"Exactly. We demand to see the lab at once. If not, I will put up a fight." Fang screamed. "Fang!" I whispered.

"Um, okay. Don't tell Mr. Greensworth." Fred typed in a punch code and led us down a hallway to a large room.

"Here's the lab." There were tables filled with pots and pots of- plants! There were many types of plants under many types of artificial lighting and pipes on the walls starting from a huge tank of water.

"This is the lab?" Angel asked. "Of course. This is where Jessica worked. The 'greenhouse' and hydroponics section."

"These projects are top secret. We genetically modified some of them, as I'm sure you know. Some of these plants are so poisonous they're not even legal in most of the world."

I noticed Fang dart off into the corner. "This is the lab?" His eyes were red and teary. I hugged him. "Oh Fang…"

"This is what Iggy was talking about? We came here to stop evil experiments on plants? I wish we never came here!" I put my hand on Fang's shoulder, but he pushed me away. "I need to be alone, okay!" He screamed. I walked away.

I was disappointed, too. I too wished that we hadn't come to this island. I felt the regret and sadness and anger of the situation, but I was sure that none of those feelings could compare to what Fang was feeling. I guess we could just leave in the morning and return to our normal lives knowing that we wasted about four days of our lives.


	12. So Close!

**Chapter 12: So Close!**

"Well, we don't have much, but this will do. Please, make yourselves comfortable." Fred had let us sleep in the living room for the night.

"I'm scared. What if Gazzy isn't better by tomorrow?" Angel asked. "Don't worry, he will be." I assured. "But what if he's not?" Angel had tears in her eyes. "I said he will be! Now go to bed!" I heard Angel crying, but I was too upset to care.

"Nice one, Max." Nudge said as she walked over to Angel to comfort her.

I felt guilty for snapping at Angel. She was just worried about Gazzy, all of us were. But I was worried about someone other than Gazzy: Fang.

Fang hadn't said a word since we left the hydroponics lab. He seemed deep in thought, yet wore a blank expression on his face. Whenever I tried to talk to him, he pushed me away and gave me the finger. After I left him alone, he was back in thought.

"Please, Fang say something." I begged. I gently touched him on the shoulder and he quickly jumped. "Fine, I'll say something: Get your slimy hands off of me and leave me alone! If you don't, well I'll do what I have to."

"Right, I'll just leave you alone. Back as you were…" I slowly walked away. What was wrong with Fang? I mean I knew, but he had never been _this_ upset before.

"Oww!" I bumped into Nudge. I slowly rubbed my head. "That will leave a bruise."

"I'm worried about Fang." I said. "I'm worried about Angel. She's falling apart I think she's showing signs of early depression." I sighed. "This was a bad idea. Gazzy's sick, Angel's depressed, Fang's acting all weird, and this is all making me go insane!"

Nudge and I sat on a couch. "I really wish that Iggy was here." She said. "If he was here than we wouldn't be here." I responded a bit too harshly. "I know that, but still… I miss him. It hasn't even been a week since he died!"

I pulled out his book of poetry. "That journal of his always makes me feel so close to Iggy, yet so distant." Nudge said. "I mean, he writes so well. I can hear his voice. Like he's talking to me! But still, it makes me feel as I don't know him."

Nudge flipped to the third page of the book. "If you don't mind, I just want to read something to keep me going. Just one poem." I nodded and as she started reading, I couldn't resist but look over her shoulder.

_What do They Know?_

_Sometimes life gives you lemons._

_They say make lemonade. _

_When you have a frown what to do?_

_They say turn it upside-down._

_They have an answer for all._

_How to make your spirits rise after they fall._

_How to fix this,_

_How to fix that._

_However, however, do they know?_

_Do they know how to mend a broken heart?_

_Can they make disappointment disappear?_

_No. Because they don't know!_

_They don't understand._

_They don't know. _

_This won't just go._

_This won't just leave._

_I'm the only one,_

_Only I understand myself._

_No one will ever, completely understand me._

_That's how it is that's how it will be._

"What are you doing?" It was Angel. Nudge quickly shut Iggy's poetry journal. "Nothing, we're not doing anything." Angel lifted her head. "What's that?"

"This? This is nothing." I said. "No it isn't. It's a book." She persisted. "Fine, it's Iggy's diary. Happy?" Angel tried to grab the book, but I put it back in my pocket.

"Iggy had a diary?" Nudge and I nodded. "Is that the one we gave you when he died?" Angel asked. "Yes. This is it."

"I wanna read it!" Her face let a small smile. "This will be interesting."

"Well, too bad. You can't read it." Nudge said. "Why not?" Angel protested. "Because you can't. That's why." Angel was used to hearing that, being the youngest. She turned around to get back to whatever she was doing before, but hesitated, and turned back around to face us. "Fine! But what's it about?" She asked.

"It's a diary, what do you think it's about?" Nudge asked impatiently. "Am I in there? Ooh, what did he say about me? Does it say-" I interrupted her.

"It says that you should leave us alone and think about how your brother will die." The moment I said that, I felt instantly guilty. "I'm sorry…"I started. Angel ran to the other corner of the room, crying.

"Nice!" Nudge muttered. "Nice going!" Nothing was going right for me that night. I sighed and headed over to where Fang was.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone!" Fang screamed. "Look, I'm not doing anything! Now how about _you _leave me alone!" Fang looked at me curiously. "Max? What's wrong?" I took a deep breath.

"Nothing. I'm fine, okay!" Fang awkwardly put his arms around me. "Max, I can't stand seeing you unhappy." That stopped me. I had no idea that he felt that way! I wanted to kiss him right then and there, but I decided to play this one cool.

"Oh and why is that?" I asked coolly. "Because, well I don't know. I've been really stressed and lately the only thing that makes me happy is seeing you happy and seeing you well, care about me." I could practically hear his voice at the end of the sentence.

"Fang, that is very sweet of you to say that." _Wait for him to come to you._ I thought. "I'm glad…" Fang fell into a silence. _Think of something- QUICK!_

"Are you still thinking of Iggy?" _Not that!_ "All of the time." A tear rolled down his cheek. "You know, you did what you could for Iggy. You gave all you had. If Iggy were here, he'd be more than happy."

"Really?" Fang asked. "Definitely. Iggy thought very highly of you. If there's a heaven, he watched you and he is thrilled that you did whatever you could to fulfill his final wish." A smile appeared on Fang's face.

"Max, you- I mean I-" Fang flung his arms around me. Oh – my- God! Fang just hugged me! He just hugged me again! Fang's lips started to approach mine. Wow! I closed my eyes. I could practically feel his warms lips touch mine.

"Oh! Mang, Fax, I mean Fang, Max." It was Nudge. Not again! "Is this is a bad time? I mean…" I gave Nudge a dirty look. "It's not a bad time!" Nudge interrupted me. "Good!" I rolled my eyes. "It's a terrible time!"

"Well sorry." Nudge said sarcastically. I pulled Nudge aside. "You ruined it! You ruined it for me! I was so close. So close! Can you believe it?! Twice now you've ruined it for me! Twice!" Nudge looked down and muttered, "I'm sorry, my God!" I looked Nudge strait in the eye. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me." She replied. "That's it!" I cried. I started slapping Nudge as hard and as much as I could "Max, stop it." It was Fang.

"Max, I completely misjudged you. I know that you're stressed and you're not in the best mood. All of us are. But you have no reason to act like that." Fang looked slightly disappointed. "Wait, I just got carried away."

"You always get too carried away. I'm sorry, I can't be with someone who treats their own members of their Flock like that." I touched Fang's shoulder. "Wait! Please, you have to understand…"

"I do understand. I understand that you're not right for me." Fang headed back to his corner and I ran to the couch, pulled a blanket over my head, and started sobbing.

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**For all of my Christian readers: Merry Christmas**

**For all of my Jewish readers: Happy Hanukkah**

**And for everyone: Happy New Year!**


	13. Down in the Dumps

**Almost done, I promise. Please R&R.**

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**Chapter 13: Down in the Dumps**

_Everyone hates me now!_ I thought to myself. _Angel because I was mean to her, Nudge same reason, Fang because I was mean to Nudge and if Gazzy were conscious and Iggy alive, they'd probably hate me too. It was kind of my fault that they all hated me, but still!  
_

I felt the tears drip down my face. It was the middle of the night and I couldn't get to sleep, even though I was tired. If my life was a china vase my life would be in shatters and taken away to the trash left in a large dump to rot forever...

I felt around in my pocket, and picked up Iggy's diary. I tried to read it, but the room was too dark. I felt around for a nearby lamp, but was unsuccessful. So I slowly got up. I needed to get away from this place… I needed to get out. I needed a break from this, time to think! I needed to fly. I had to get out of here.

I'd be back by daybreak, besides, they probably wouldn't even care if I was gone. I stumbled to the door and tried to open it. Darn it! It was locked. _Why did they lock the door?_ I asked myself. _It's probably just a security thing. For a plant lab under a cave with secret passageway with special number-coded locks? _

I heard a groan across the room. What was that? Oh, just Nudge groaning in her sleep. I headed back to bed, but tripped over the couch Nudge was sleeping on. "Max?" Nudge rubbed her eyes. "Is that you?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I just tripped on your couch- an accident, really." I stood up quickly preparing myself for her wrath. "Right." Nudge said sarcastically. That wasn't too bad. "No seriously." Nudge sat up.

"Now I can't go back to sleep! Thanks." I felt like saying, "Well sorr-ee!," but I held my tongue. I didn't need anymore trouble with Nudge. "Really, it was an accident."

"Okay, fine." I could tell that Nudge still didn't believe me. "Nudge, I'm very sorry about everything that I said to you yesterday." It was hard for me to say that, but I knew that I had to.

"Max, you can be very mean sometimes! You know how hard you slapped me? I'm still red all over!" I looked down.

"I was stressed, okay? I'm worried about Gazzy and all of you and of course, myself, mainly." I started. "Figures." I did my best to ignore that. "You can be mean when you're stressed or upset too." Nudge turned her head to face me.

"Still, what is your problem?" Nudge screamed. "Twice this week you ruined my chance at love. Twice I was about to kiss Fang and you ruined it. Twice!"

"Yeah, and you're point is?" Nudge wasn't getting it at all. "It's very rare that I get Fang to kiss me. He's very mysterious and it's almost impossible to tell what he's thinking. When I finally get a chance to kiss him, you ruin it."

"Twice a week is rare?" I groaned angrily. "You just don't understand, do you?" I stood up, but Nudge sat me down.

"Max, I don't completely understand, you're right. But I understand that you like Fang and I understand that you got mad because I have terrible timing when I _accidentally _ruin your moment with Fang." Nudge said.

"I had no right to slap you like that." I said. "I understand. If Iggy ever kissed me and you ruined it like I ruined your kiss I guess I would have been mad too. I wouldn't have acted like a total madwoman like you…" I cut her off. "Don't push it, Nudge." We laughed as Angel approached us.

"I heard you guys yelling." Angel yawned. "No, it's okay. Everything's okay now." I assured her. "Also, I want to apologize for being so mean to you yesterday." Angel smiled. "That's okay." She sat down on the floor.

"But what if you're right? What if he will die?" Tears fell down Angel's face. "I'd tell you that he'll be fine, but I don't know that. All that I can tell you is to pray and hope for him. All of us will." I answered.

"I just can't fall asleep." Angel said. "That's okay, neither can I or Nudge for that matter." I turn to face Nudge. She was fast asleep. "Make that just me. Don't worry, I'll keep you company." I assured.

"Are we going to leave tomorrow?" She asked. "Yes, that's what we will do." I answered. "But what if Gazzy isn't better yet?" I could hear the concern in her voice. "Then, we'll carry him back with us and take him to a hospital." Angel nodded. "Okay."

Angel and I stayed up all night talking occasionally, but mostly remaining silent. Nudge's watched beeped at 7:00 AM, which woke her up.

"Wow, I fell asleep." Angel and I nodded. "Well, I guess today's the day that were leaving." Nudge stretched. "Yes it is."

"Should I wake up Fang, or let him sleep?" I thought. "Give him a few more minutes." I walked to Fang's bed and looked at him. _Please Fang, take me back. Please forgive me!_ I thought to myself.

I waited a few minutes, then woke Fang up. "It's morning already?" He stretched and opened his eyes. "Oh, it's you." Fang said with a nasty tone in his voice. "Um, rise and shine!" I said cheerfully. "Go away."

"Fang, look I'm sorry. I made up with Nudge and it's all good now." I started. "What part of 'go away' don't you get?" He screamed. "Nothing, it's just that…" Fang interrupted me.

"Just that nothing! I saw the real you and I don't need to know anymore." Fang stood up and tried to get past me, but I blocked him. "Fang, you have to give me another chance. Don't tell me you've never done anything that you regretted when you were angry."

"I have better self-control than you, and I would never hurt anyone in this Flock, or anyone for that matter unless I absolutely had to! No go away from me now!" I slowly backed away, and when he turned away, cried and ran to the other side of the room. Fang sure knew how to get me down.

"What did he say to you?" Nudge asked. "He told me- to go- away." I sobbed. "Max, he'll get over this eventually. I think he's just playing you." Maybe, just maybe that was it. "Really?" Nudge shrugged. "Maybe."

At eight, Fred came into our room. "Well, would you guys like to stay a little longer to tour the rest of the plant labs?"

"Actually, we have to get going. Thank you very much for allowing us to see the hydroponics lab. It means a lot to all of us. Um, we'll be on our way." I said very politely. "No please, just stay a little longer. We- get very lonely and enjoy the company of new people interested in our goals."

"I'm sorry, but we really have to leave." Nudge said. "But we're not ready yet!" I looked at him quizzically. "Not ready for you to leave yet. Hold on, I have to talk to Mr. Greensworth about something."

"I really think that we should go." Angel said. "I agree." Angel headed for the door. "It's locked." She called. "I know." Nudge pulled me over.

"Max, what if they're trying to keep us here, for a bad reason?!" Nudge asked. "They're a bunch of plant huggers, why would they try to keep us here?" I saw no reasonable explanation for Nudge's theory.

"I don't know. I just don't trust these people. I mean, if this is a full functioning plant lab, then how come we've only seen two people here. The nerd, Fred and that lazy boss-type guy, Mr. Greensworth can't run the whole thing!" She did have a point there. "I just don't think that these people are against us. Just because those two are the only ones we've seen doesn't mean anything."

"But where were the other workers if they weren't working with the plants? It just seems odd." Nudge remarked. "You're just paranoid. That's all."

"Maybe. Maybe not." She whispered. "So _Nudge_, are we ready to leave?" Fang asked. "Where were you all this time?" Fang ignored me. "Are we?" Nudge shook her head. "Not now, I guess."

"Guys, you can't leave." Fred said. "Oh yeah, we'll leave if we want to. Then people will hear of how you tried to keep us here and then-" Fred put his hand up. "I'm afraid that Gazzy's very sick. He will die in three days... maybe four if he's lucky. That's all that we're sure about at the present time."

"Let's leave, get medical attention, and get their opinion." Nudge stared Fred right in the eye. "If you fly with him, he won't make the journey. That's definite." That wasn't a risk that we were willing to take.

"Can we see him?" Angel asked. "Yes, you can see him later. Right now he's going through some tough medical procedures. Then, he'll need some peace and quite so he can rest. Maybe I should leave you alone for awhile. I'll be back in a few minutes." Fred left the room, locking the door.

"Gazzy!" Angel fell to the floor crying. Not Gazzy! I felt the tears fall from my face as I hugged Nudge.

**Happy Kwanzaa and last day of Hanukkah and happy holidays and of course HAPPY NEW YEAR!  
**


	14. Another Blowup

**What do you think? Please R&R. I'd like 3 reviews before I post chapter 15.**

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**Chapter 14: Another Blowup**

"Um… that was more than a few minutes." It was Fred. "Go away!" Nudge screamed. Fred jumped back about three feet.

"I do have some good news, though that will cheer you all up." Fred put on a weak smiled. "What?!" With all of the emotions I'd been feeling recently- and now this, I felt like my chest was about to explode. Fred backed up. I could tell that he really didn't want to be with us right then and there.

"Um… we can finally open up that space icecream tonight! You know, the one that astronauts in space eat. Mr. Greensworth has been keeping it away from me forever. Now we can have it. Isn't that great? That should make you feel better." Gee, some powdery dessert gimmick that the Kennedy Space Center gift shop sells makes this all better!

"I hate space ice cream." Angel ran to the other side of the room sobbing. "Nice." Fang remarked. "Well, um I have something that is _certain_ to make you feel better. You want to play this Gameboy Color you kids like? Color! I have the latest version of Math-Fun-Addicts!" Was this geek a total idiot? Nobody played with a Gameboy Color since the Nintendo D.S. came out!

"Just go away!" Nudge had tears coming from her eyes. "Okay, um I have another game. It's Godzilla vs. King Kong limited edition…" I groaned loudly. "Just go, now!"

"Um, okay dinner is at seven… uh I'll just leave you to your thoughts." Fred left the room. "That moron!" I exclaimed.

"I know… I just can't believe that Gazzy, our Gazzy is going to- die." Nudge gulped and burst into tears. It was hard to believe that Gazzy would be dead. I mean he was so… young and he was just- well always there.

I still hadn't grown accustom to Iggy's death! The worst part of all of it was that we weren't even there for Gazzy and none of us had visited him since he went to the "hospital". Also, none of us had checked out were he was being treated nor met the people treating him!

"We're so terrible! We never checked out the doctors or the hospital!" I cried. "I know. It's partially our fault- all of this!" Nudge burst into tears. We all nodded in agreement.

"It's just that, sometimes I was mean to him." Angel cried. "Angel, even if you were mean to him you were nice to him at least 1000 times more. Trust me." I gave Angel a hug, trying to catch Fang's eye so he could see how nice I could be. He looked the other way.

"Angel you have nothing to be sorry about." I said a little loudly. Angel tried to say something, but she was crying so hard she could barely breathe. "Angel, why don't you take your mind off of things? That would do you some good. Would you like to play Math-Fun-Addicts?" Angel nodded. "O-Okay." She sobbed. She grabbed the Gameboy and sat on the couch next to Nudge.

"Fang, isn't it terrible that someone we all love and care about is going to die… so soon, so young." I started. "Obviously!" I took a deep breath. "Okay, that is a kind of stupid question, even if it was what we call a _rhetorical_ question."

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but you're really starting to annoy me!" Fang yelled. "I'm not trying to annoy you. I'm just trying to figure things out." _And make you take me back_. I thought. "Well, figure things out on your own time." Ugh! "Yes sir!" Fang rolled his eyes and headed to Nudge and Angel.

I stopped him. "Fang, we have to talk things out." Fang let out an impatient groan. "No we don't! What's the matter with you? There's nothing that we have to talk about. Leave me alone, okay? This is a hard time for me and you're not making it any easier for me."

_Just let him go for now._ I thought. I tried, I really tried, but after about ten seconds I ran after him. "Fang, please. You're stressed about all of this. I know that. All of us are. I think that we should cheer each other up and take our mind off of things."

"MAX! I hate you!" I felt my heart break in half. "W-what?" I managed. "Oh, oh oh! Miss Innocent is clueless." I fought my tears. "No, you don't understand…"

"Max, you won't leave me alone ever. You're annoying, selfish, cruel, and a lot of other things." He did not just say that! "Look who's talking!" I knew that saying that would get me into more trouble and hurt me more later, but I couldn't control myself.

"Max, you think that you're all this and you think that you deserve everything." How dare he! "I do deserve everything!" I shouted. "That's what you think! Ha! I knew that you'd say that. Knew it, knew it, KNEW IT!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked defensively. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's just calm down." Nudge said. "Stay out of this!" I yelled. "See, there you go again, being mean to Nudge like always." Fang jeered.

"Oh yeah, all of the time. I'm mean!" I was shaking. _Calm down Max, before you lose control again. _I told myself. "Yes you are! And you know what else you are, ugly! You have the ugliest face ever." That was the last straw. There was a storm coming and there was no way to stop me.

I lunged at Fang, but Nudge held me back. "Stop! Let me go!" I tried to wiggle myself free, but Nudge had a really tight grip. "Only if you can promise that you will walk away from Fang." I shrugged.

"Can't make any promises." Nudge gave me a harsh stare. "Fine!" She let me go and Fang stuck his tongue out at me. "You son of a-" Nudge tried to hold me back, but my anger made me strong enough to break free.

"You! You!" I punched Fang in the mouth. "See Max, see this is your problem. You can't control your temper. I would never hurt any of you."

"Yeah. I'm sure!" Nudge grabbed on to me and dragged me across the room. "What has gotten into you? Do I have to be your mother?"

"No." I struggled for Nudge to let me go. "Well, obviously I do! Max I don't do what has gotten into you this past week! Maybe it's the stressful situations and all of these emotions coming together, but still! I hope that this is just a phase. If not, you need serious help, seriously." Nudge shook her head.

"Calm down and talk things out with Fang later. Oh, and think about what you did and yeah, all of that stuff." I took a few deep breaths and tried not to think too much about Fang and just tried to clear my mind. That usually worked.

After a few minutes of just sitting quietly, I calmed down. Now it was time to reflect on what I did… Oh my gosh, I really ruined everything, didn't I? Now Fang would never like me again. Our relationship would never be the same.

I felt pangs of guilt and a little resentment. "It's time for dinner." Fred called. "Oh, thanks." I got myself up and headed into the storeroom.

I did my best to avoid awkward glances with Fang and mostly kept to myself. "Are you alright?" Fred asked. "Yeah, fine." I lied. "Good. It's important that you remain okay physically and emotionally." Okay?

After dinner, no one said anything and we all just headed to bed early. I couldn't sleep very well and everything that I thought about led to Fang. _Think about something completely random._ I told myself.

_Let's see: random…random…how about4th of July? _Random, but hey 4th of July is fun! _4__th__ of July they have fireworks. Yeah, those are kind of fun. Ah! Fang and Iggy used to love setting them off. Darn! Fang. _

Yeah, I tried other random topics too like tomato soup, shoes, math, convertibles, and lot of weird things, but somehow they all led to Fang. That idiot weaseled his way into every subject matter on the planet! Ugh.

I slept like a baby: waking up every hour crying or simply trying to get to sleep. At around four-ish I heard Angel crying. I came up to her and she immediately stopped. "Um, hi Max- what are you doing up this late?"

"Don't stop, it's okay to cry sometimes. Sometimes crying makes you feel better." Angel nodded. "As a matter of fact, if you don't mind, I think that I'll cry with you." There we sat. The two of us. Just crying, stopping for a few minutes, crying again, and then hugging each other. It actually did make me feel a tiny bit less upset.

We stopped at seven when Nudge's watch alarm woke her and Fang up. My face was red and blotchy and I was very dehydrated. I really needed a break. Stat!


	15. The Prophecy is Fulfilled

**I'm posting anyway, even though I didn't get 3 reviews. Please, please, PLEASE, pretty PLEASE with whipped cream and cherries and sprinkles on top review. If I get 3 reviews on this chapter, you have no idea how happy that would make me. Praise or criticism, bring it on! My sister and I have a bet that I won't get 3 reviews. I really don't want to give her 10 bucks! I also hope that 2009 is treating you well. Now, without further ado here's:  
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**Chapter 15: The Prophecy is Fulfilled**

"We're ready for you now." Fred said. "Excuse me?" We had just finished our "tasty" lunch of canned lima beans and something I to this day remain clueless of what it was.

"Just follow me." Fred said impatiently. "Are we going to see Gazzy?" I could see the hopeful look on Angel's face. "Uh yes, of course." Fred led us behind one of the shelves of canned fruits, typed in a code, and locked the door.

"Uh, where are we going?" Nudge's voice was shaking slightly. "You'll find out soon enough." Angel clung onto me.

"I'm scared." Her voice came out in a very shaky whisper and I could feel her quivering in fear. "Don't worry; I'm sure he's just taking us to the medical ward- to see Gazzy, obviously." After walking for about two minutes through a cold, damp, and pitch dark hallway, Fred opened a large door.

"Gazzy!" Angel cried. There was Gazzy sleeping on a gurney peacefully. We all ran over towards him. "Is he in pain?"

"Perhaps." Fred said nonchalantly. "Probably." A man said. "Uh, who are you?" I asked. "I work here. I'm assistant junior executive doctor 2nd to chief executive operator." The man boasted. He then turned to Mr. Greensworth who was standing in the corner of the room. "How did you get them here? Was it you-know-who?" He whispered the name as though he were talking about Voldemort.

"Later, Ian. Get them ready." Ian quickly left the room. "Where is he going? Tell me now!" I demanded.

"Alright now, wake up!" Mr. Greensworth started shaking the gurney that Gazzy was sleeping on. "Stop it! Let him sleep!" Angel cried. "Wake up, you fool." Mr. Greensworth continuously hit him in the face until Gazzy finally woke up. "Angel! And Max and Fang and everyone!" Nudge seemed slightly offended because Gazzy didn't mention her name.

"Oh Gazzy you're so brave!" Angel cried. "I know. I'm very courageous. But why are you saying that?" Gazzy sat up. "Well, I mean you're going to die and you seem pretty happy and stuff." I said. Gazzy's face turned a pale ghost white.

"I'm –I'm going to die?" He didn't know that? "Didn't you tell him?" I turned to Mr. Greensworth. "No, we didn't- want to- upset him. We treat him very kindly." Yeah, like how he hit Gazzy until he woke up.

"I don't trust you." I said. "Yeah, I've heard that a lot." Well that was comforting! "It's ready." Ian from before came back into the room.

"We're just going to do a few tests on you." Fred took out some medical equipment. "No, that won't be necessary."

"Yes it will."

"If you try to harm us in any way, I swear you will be sorry. We will fight. We've fought before and we will fight again." I stared right into Fred's eyes trying to intimidate him.

"Okay. Which one of you will be going first?" Nobody volunteered. "I guess I will have to choose. Hmm… how about the little one. We want to do a few tests with you and your brother. You know, so we can compare a few things. It gives us a better idea for the project." Angel shook nervously. "I don't want to go first." She clenched onto Gazzy's hand.

"I'll go first." Fang offered. _Better Fang than me_. I thought. _But still I don't want anything to happen to him. Even though we have had our disagreements. _

"Can one of us go with him?" Nudge asked. "I'm afraid not." Fred led him into a side room before we could protest or ask why. "Mr. Greensworth will be with you in a moment." He called to Fang before shutting and locking the door.

"Now you will wait here until it is your turn." We all nodded. He pulled out a folded and wrinkled magazine titled: Android Weekly. "I'm watching your every move." We sttared at him. "Uh that's kind of creepy." Fred let out an annoyed grunt. "What I meant was that I'll be keeping an eye on you." Fred went back to reading his magazine.

"Gazzy, are you alright." I noticed that Gazzy was crying. "I can't believe that I am going to die. It's not fair! I'm not old. I only think about old people dying."

"What about Iggy?" Everyone stared at me. "You're not helping." Nudge said. I turned to face Gazzy. "I'm just so scared."

"I know…" I sat on the gurney and comforted him as he wiped his tears on his sleeves. "I just wonder what will happen when I die. Will I become an angel? I already have wings do I have to get extra wings…" His face fell. "I just don't want to die. I always wanted to grow up and be rich."

"If you die, then I won't have a brother. I don't think that I'd ever be happy again." Angel embraced her brother dramatically and started crying.

"Hey, I'm the one who's dying. I should be crying!" I couldn't believe any of this. I mean how our life would be when our Gazzy was gone. I wouldn't be able to handle life without him and Iggy.

I mean just the stress of Iggy's death turned me into a monster. If I lost two people close to me in the same week, would I be able to deal? Would I go completely phsyco? If so, I'd be taken away to the mental hospital and then everyone else in the Flock...

"Next!" Fred called. "Already?" He nodded. "Time really flies when you're having fun."

"Where's Fang?" Fred smiled. "Oh he's entertaining the other doctors." That was not a the answer I was hoping for.

"Where is he?" I asked again. "Oh, You'll find out soon enough."

"That's not good enough!" I screamed. Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and Fred stared at me. "Tell me where he is and if he's safe and if he will remain safe." Fred grabbed my arm and pulled me into the same room that he pulled Fang into.

"Hello Max." Mr. Greensworth smiled. "Yeah, whatever. What are you doing with us?" I asked. "Different things. Thank you Fred, you can go now."

"Max, I will be doing a routine checkup on you like if you were at the doctor's office. Then, you will go in another other room where you will participate in many experiments and studies."

"Is that where Fang is?" I asked. "Not in the room that you'll be going to, but yes. He's having experiments done on him too. You all get a chance, don't worry."

"Are these experiments safe?" Mr. Greensworth put a stethoscope on my chest, listened into it, and wrote something down on a clipboard. "Depends on your definition of safe." Gee, that made me feel a lot better about the situation!

"Okay, now let me weigh you." Mr. Greensworth wrote something down and then sent me through a door to another room with his clipboard.

"Hello there Max. You can give that clipboard to me. My name is Dr. Angelo Fields and I will be in charge of you today." I shook his hand briefly. "No need to be concerned there. These experiments will benefit us and other doctors even if you die."

"Die?!" Dr. Fields rolled his eyes. "Yes die. But not to worry, that shouldn't be happening. Not today anyway. Now please lie down on this gurney."

"Where's Fang? What are you doing with him? Is he okay? Will everyone else be okay?" Dr. Fields hushed me. "You certainly have a lot of questions, don't you?" Well yeah! "Yes. And I assume that they will be answered honestly and that I will like the answers." Dr. Fields forced me onto the gurney.

"People like you are why these were invented." Dr. Fields pressed a button on a remote control which caused three metal straps to lock me onto the gurney.

"I trust that you won't be going anywhere." I nodded glumly. "Let's get started then." Dr. Fields checked his clipboard.

"Wait a minute; you're a secret branch of Itex, right?" I asked. "Not exactly. We were, but we broke off. Apparently Mr. Greensworth had some… issues with them. Now we do independent research and studies. Also, Itex has no idea what we're doing whatsoever and neither does the rest of the world."

"Okay... so about the Gasman. You're not going to ruin the last couple of days of his life, right?" I asked. "He's going to die anyway. He might as well die knowing that he benefited the medical and science fields."

"No he won't. He will die happy knowing that he wasn't some human guinea pig." I said. "I am sorry but you do not have control of that."

Dr. Fields turned around to get some needles. "This won't hurt a bit, unless of course you have a nervous system."

"Oww!" Dr. Fields spared no mercy and shoved the needle as far as it could go. "What was that?" Dr. Fields laughed.

"That was Fermoine Kildenide type AF. It's essential for our experiment. That took six months to prepare and it expires quickly. Very tricky medicine. If I had given it to you a week later then now you would have been dead." I gulped. That was always nice to hear.

"Over the next few days, you will take certain pills and doing certain…exercises so we can track the progress of the Fermoine Kildenide."

The area of my arm where he injected me felt numb. "You were expecting us. You knew that we'd come. I mean you said that the medicine expires quickly and takes six months to prepare. You must have known almost exactly when we'd be coming."

"You are a sharp one. Lift your arm." Dr. Fields took my blood pressure as he chuckled. "I figured that you'd find out eventually."

"How did you know? We you spying on us?" When was it that we decided we were coming? In our home officially, but we mentioned it before that somewhere, but where?

"I wasn't personally spying, but there was a double agent, so to speak."

"Just tell me damn it!" I yelled. "Oh all right. I was hoping that you'd discover it eventually. Fine. It was a member of your own Flock. One who was coordinating and making deals with us for the past two years. One who was willing to sacrifice your live for money and his own safety."

"WHO? WHO WAS IT?!" Dr. Fields took a moment. "The one you called Iggy." Iggy? How? No. He was lying.

"You liar! You filthy lire." I had to come up with a good insult- fast. "Liar, liar pants on fire!" Not the best.

"He was a filthy trader and you know it. Was he not the one who told you to come here? He conveniently didn't come, did he?"

"Well duh. He died!" Dr. Fields laughed. "Awfully convenient. Was it not?" I would have hit Dr. Fields if I wasn't held onto the gurney. "You don't decide when you die! Unless of course you commit suicide, which Iggy didn't. He died drag racing."

"Fine, believe what you will. Iggy had cancer. We thought he was going to die anyway. Luckily he didn't." Yes, he was still very much with us.

"Uh, I think I would've heard if he had cancer." I mean Nudge or Fang would've called me if he had cancer. Of course they would've. Right?

"He was living his life to his fullest. When we told him that he was going to die, he knew that he had to get you guys here. A way to get you here without him coming. Of course, Iggy might be here with us. He may be closer than you think."

"We had an open casket funeral. He's dead." For that I was sure. "Whatever. Other arm." How could he be so insensitive?

"I just found out that Iggy betrayed us so in other words, you're telling me that Iggy was a total lie and the guy we thought we could trust was nothing but a selfish traitor. And all you want is to continue with this medical procedure, if you can call it that, and not give me a moment to take this in. Can't I at least have personal day or year?"

"I'm afraid not. We must run tests daily. Arm." I reluctantly gave him my left arm. "Daily for how long?" I asked. "Until we get what we want or until you perish."

"Perish as in die?" I gulped. "Yes, that's what perish means. Don't be concerned, we don't want you to die. If you died, we'd have to do extra studies on the rest of you." That would NOT be good. "At least if you die, the doctors can be better prepared for when the rest of your Flock dies."

That didn't exactly comfort me, but I had other things to worry about. I was probably the only one who knew what Iggy did. He did something evil and heinous. Everyone else was probably thinking about how good Iggy was and how they miss him. They thought he was one of us, part of the Flock.

He was, wasn't he? He did many nice things for us over the years and we had many great times together. Still, Iggy betrayed us as such from his poem, _Betrayed from Within._ Iggy. Ironic, huh. He kind of fulfilled his wn profecy in his own way. Even so it was our Iggy. The Iggy that was like my brother. The Iggy who we all loved. Why? Why him?


	16. This is the End my Friends

**I'm really sad because I only got 1 review and 4 hits and I had to pay my sister 10 bucks.*tear rolls down cheek* Please, the story is almost over so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review, good bad, "this story sucks and should never have been written" reviews. I don't care. Please make me happy.** **Think of it as an early b-day present to me. If you can't review (even anonymous reviewers can review) then please PM me.  
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**Chapter 16: This is the End my Friends**

"Alright, just one more shot." Dr. Fields had been saying that for the past hour! "Oww!" I screamed. Dr. Fields sure wasn't afraid to dig the needle in deep. "Pull it out! You butcher. You evil MADMAN!" If he dug down any further, the needle would come out the other side.

"Is there a problem?" A man in a brown sweater walked in. "No, Dr. Of course not." The man shrugged. "Oh, she's okay, not dead. Continue. I'll be off on my daily stroll, okay. Remember, if she dies today, you burn her body." I gagged at that thought. "We can't lose her if we want to continue with project 142YYXTZ." He paused. "Go on." The man said as he left the room. "I hate you, I hate you all!" I belted at the top of my lungs so loud, my throat felt sore.

"Iggy would love to hear you scream again." I groaned angrily. "That's a lie! If Iggy was alive he'd beat the lights out of you!"

"_If_ Iggy was alive?" Dr. Fields pressed. "Yes, if. He's dead and you know it." Dr. Fields turned around and poured some liquid into a cup. "Fine, don't believe me. Iggy will be offended, though." Dr. Fields ordered me to drink the liquid in the cup.

I forced myself to swallow the questionable liquid with chunks of stuff in it. "Iggy is dead!" I yelled. Dr. Fields chuckled. "Alright, he's dead, if you say so." I nodded. "I do say so."

"Okay. I think I'm done with you for now. Anymore drugs and you'll go into cardiac arrest. Heaven knows that we are not prepared for that." Dr. Fields lifted the three metal straps. "Just remember to come back after dinner. Yes, your life depends on it."

Dr. Fields escorted me to the living room where we had slept the nights before. "I trust that you won't be going anywhere." Dr. Fields locked the doors.

"Oh, it's you." Fang got up from the couch. "How are you?" Fang pointed to his arms and lifted his shirt to show me his back. He must've gotten 50 shots. "I've been better." He sighed. "If only Iggy were here. If Iggy were here, we'd be out of here by now. Actually, if Iggy were here we wouldn't be here, still..."

"Don't be so sure of that." I took off my shoes, sat on the sofa, and put my feet up on the coffee table. "Why? Iggy's a hero. He would've risked his life and he would've fought. He would poison them with their own medicine, he'd be creative. He'd find a way. Unlike me, the world's biggest coward. Iggy deserved to live, not me."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Iggy is not as big of a hero as he seems." I started. "What makes you say that, take that back!" _Should I tell him? Should I tell him the truth about the person closest to him? Would he even believe me?_

"Well, um… we will never know what he would've done." Fang stood up. "I do. He would've saved us." I nodded. "Yeah, he would've. If you'll excuse me… I have to do something." Fang ran to the opposite corner of the room. I knew he was crying. Whenever we mentioned Iggy, tears would form in his eyes.

"Alright, get in here." A portly man shoved Nudge inside the living room. "Are you okay?" Nudge nodded and looked to the corner Fang was in. "Oh dear, not again."

"I think it would be best to leave him to his thoughts." I said. "Yes, I agree." We were silent for a minute. In that time I absorbed everything Dr. Fields had told me about Iggy. He made us believe that we could trust him, but he was a fraud. Had he always planned on betraying us? Was every time he showed an act of compassion toward us just a decoy?

I took Iggy's diary out of my pocket and threw it across the room. "Max, are you crazy?" Nudge ran across the room and retrieved the journal.

"Get that out of my sight!" I screamed. "Max, what's the matter? Did he write something in there that you didn't like?" I shook my head. "It's not what he wrote, it's what he did." Nudge patted my shoulder sympathetically. "Yes, we're all sorry that he died."

"I'm not. Serves him right." Nudge raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" I felt the anger surge inside me. "You heard me. Iggy got us into this mess in the first place."

"Yes, he didn't know that we'd be in harm's way. That was his dying wish, he wasn't thinking about the consequences."

"You idiot, Iggy betrayed us. He made deals with the people here. He made us come. He caused a diversion. If he died, he made it seem like he'd die in a way that suited him so we wouldn't see it coming. He knew what they'd do the entire time. He cut them a deal. Take the Flock, and spare me."

"You don't have proof." Nudge protested. "Oh yeah, then why were the doctors so prepared for our arrival?"

"They weren't. We had to give a bogus lie that we were related to Jessica to get in here." I thought for a second. "They needed time. They weren't quite ready. They must've thought that we'd fly here by ourselves, not in a plane. They had to get us to trust them so we wouldn't attempt an escape."

"Iggy?" There were tears in Nudge's eyes. "I won't believe that. Not until I have absolute proof." Nudge opened Iggy's diary. "I'll expect an apology." I shook my head. "I'm really sorry."

"This is Iggy's personal journal. If he deceived us, he would've written about it." Nudge held up Iggy's diary. "Not necessarily."

Nudge turned to the back. "I want to see what his last entry was. I want to see what he was thinking before he died. I never looked beyond the first thirty pages. Too painful."

I looked at the ceiling for the next few minutes. "No!" Nudge threw the book into my arms. I looked the poem on the page: _The Guilt I Feel_. When was this dated? Oh my gosh! It was dated the day he died!

_I loved them, they trusted me._

_They were there for me, I wasn't._

_I cannot and shouldn't let this be._

_But could I tell them all? _

_What would they say?_

_No, not on any call._

_I cannot bare the shame._

_I cannot live to see them hate me._

_If they die, it is me to blame._

_Every second I grow weak,_

_Every second, death grows near._

_I'm too afraid, I'm too meek!_

_That's what's killing my soul._

_I'm letting them walk to their death._

_My fault at whole. _

_Oh! Let me die._

_I can't wait, I welcome death._

_I'm not upset, I won't cry._

_I'm the worst._

_There are the bad, there are the evil._

_Then there is me: the cursed._

Oh, Iggy. He let us die! He knew this was dangerous, but he let us go on with it anyway. He really was a no good selfish idiot.

"Can you believe it?!" Nudge said. "To think that I loved him." To think that I had trusted him! "Wait, that wasn't the last thing that he wrote. He wrote something else on the next page."

"I don't care. If I read one more thing that he wrote, I think I'll go mad." I put the diary back in my pocket.

"He set us up." Nudge muttered. We sat there in silence thinking our own dirty thoughts about Iggy. "Nudge, Max!"

"Hey Angel. Hey Gazzy." I said glumly. "What's wrong with all of you? Fang's in the corner and you two look really sad."

"Yeah, we found out what a scumbag Iggy is." Angel's eyes opened wide. "Scumbag?" I told her and Gazzy about Iggy.

"No!" Angel cried. "I always knew that. I never fully trusted him!" Gazzy remarked. "He may have died as a selfish idiot, but I won't. Tonight, I'm going to break us out of here. If I can't then, what are they going to do? I'm going to die anyway and they won't hurt you because they need you. I'm going to save us."

"Gazzy, no." Angel said. "What do I have to lose?" Gazzy was the total opposite of Iggy. He was going to do what Iggy wouldn't: use his last minutes to save us, not set us up for disaster.

"Dinner!" Fred called. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel headed out. "Hold on, let me get Fang." I ran to the corner where Fang was moping. "Fang, we have to go to dinner. Fang. FANG!" Fang turned around, his face red and blotchy.

"I miss Iggy." I rolled my eyes. "Worry about that later." Fang took me by my arms. "You know what Max, I really hate you. You are insensitive and evil." Fang pushed me out of the way and headed for dinner.

Throughout dinner, Fang and I exchanged angry glances and dirty looks. Everyone else went back to the living room while I went back with the doctors. While they were doing whatever to me, Gazzy and the rest of them would be plotting their escape.

"I'll just be testing your blood." Dr. Fields said. I hoped that would be all. I was feeling nauseous and had stomach cramps, probably from all of the shots.

As he took my blood, I felt lightheaded. I then collapsed. A few minutes later, Dr. Fields woke me up. "The drugs shouldn't make you faint unless… Max, your kidneys. For some reason they aren't completely filtering out the drugs. This shouldn't happen… I didn't give you that much, well perhaps…"

"Spit it out!" I yelled. "The reason ITEX relocated us on the island before we broke off from them was because our last lab had some problems. We got so tired of that coroner coming and you know with the legal issues…"

Okay. Out of the many things you don't want to hear your doctor say, 'we relocated because we were tired of the coroner', was definitely on the top of the list.

"Max, I'm sorry but you're going to die." I gulped. What! First Iggy (whose death I got over), then Gazzy, and now me. How much more could I take? I was upset and full of grief when I heard that Iggy and Gazzy were going to die, but when you hear it about yourself it's a whole other story.

You can't just get over it. You feel that you will never accept that you're going to die, even on your last breath. Wait, maybe Dr. Fields was just trying to screw me over! Yeah, that's it. Probably for some kind of stress test or something, yeah, that's it! "I don't believe you, so wahtever you're trying to pull, ha! I'm not falling for it." Dr. Fields pulled up a chair.

"I know this is hard for you, but you cannot pretend that you won't die, and that I'm lying to you. I don't want you dead, your Flock doesn't want you dead, our medical board doesn't want you dead, nobody wants you to die. I wouldn't tell you this unless I was absolutely certain. We need you to be healthy physically and emotionally." No, no he was just making crazy stuff up!

"You liar! You filthy, dirty liar! You lying lying liar-face." I yelled. I tried to punch Dr. Fields in the stomach. "There's nothing I can do. Your kidneys have failed."

"Give me your kidney if you really need me to survive! A transplant. That's been known to work, I've seen it on House! Yeah, it can work." I was so desperate. I'd do anything to survive.

"Max, even if we had the same blood type, and even if my kidney would fit in your body, and even if we had the right equipment, and even if we could do it right now, right here and we had a qualified anesthesiologist, it would never work. You'd need someone in your Flock to give you their kidney. The only one who could would be Fang." I wasn't exactly on the best terms with him…

"Max, you have 36 hours if you're lucky. To attempt the surgery would put Fang at an unnecessary risk. As it is, you only have a 2 percent chance of this working, if the surgery would work on you and if our surgeons were ready for this. Also, we'd have to start tonight, as soon as possible..." We'd be breaking out tonight. I couldn't make the Flock stay for a less than 2 percent chance on my behalf.

But still, I couldn't just let myself die! It couldn't end this way.


	17. Da' Bomb

**I want to thank everyone who reviewed and have no idea how much it mean to me. The next chapter is the epilogue. Then I'm done. I'm going to post tonight or tomorrow no matter how many reviews I get. So, I hope you enjoy:**

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**Chapter 17: Da' Bomb**

"FOR IGGY!" I sat up. That sounded like Fang. The door burst open and in came Fang, Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy. "Excuse me?" Dr. Fields looked surprised and mad at the same time. "Why are you intruding into my personal lab?!"

"This is for Iggy." Fang said quietly. "Uh, yeah… the point is, you are going to let us go now and nobody gets hurt." Gazzy said in his toughest big man voice.

"You will let Max go and you will do no more medical procedures on her." Nudge's face was stern and solemn. Wait, they had to try the kidney transplant on me! I signaled for Nudge to shut up, but she continued.

"Max doesn't want to be part of any of your medical experiments or 'procedures' under any condition." I slapped my hand against my forehead. "That's a shame. We were hoping that we can save Max's life." Dr. Fields said.

"Right. Anyway, just let us go, okay." Angel looked very scared, but her voices let no hint of fear. I was so proud of her.

"I'm afraid that you can't just leave. We need you." Dr. Fields crossed his arms. "Okay, we warned you. Stand back!" Fang flew up towards the ceiling and threw down a bomb. Why did he have a bomb with him? A cloud of smoke filled the room.

"Come on Max, we have to go, now!" Angel tried to pull me out of the door. "If you go- don't count on any transplant!" Dr. Fields coughed. "Max needs a transplant?" Nudge asked. "Look, we have to hurry!" Gazzy yelled.

I could've stopped them. I could've forced them to stay. I could've picked my own life over the safety of the Flock, but I didn't. No, in one second, I realized that I had to do this unselfish deed. Even, if I was giving up my chance of survival, I was increasing everyone else's. At that second, I knew that I would never come to regret that choice.

I ran out of the room, and through some of the crumbled walls. We zoomed across the hallway until we found the opening that we first fell through to find this place.

"Max help!" Angel called. "Angel!" I looked down. She was coughing from all of the smoke. "What's wrong?" I asked. "I- I can't get up! I think I broke my ankle." I swooped down and picked her up.

The smoke was piling up we had to get out- fast. One problem, we were in a cave and there was no light so we had no way of seeing the exit. Even if we did find the entrance, it was blocked by stone!

"Flashlight!" Angel screamed. "It's not working! It ran out of batteries and we don't have extras!" Just our luck. We had managed to escape, but now we were trapped. That was just our damn luck. Whenever we get close to victory, something always happens to take it we succeed, something else always stands in our way.

"I HATE MY FREAKIN' LUCK!" I kicked the nearest rock so hard, a piece of it broke off. "Max, I see light, a beam of light!" Angel said weakly. "Max, you found the exit! Quickly, keep kicking the rock. Hurry!"

I thought of Iggy. I thought of how I loved him, then how we had our falling out, then how he betrayed all of us. "ARG!" I kicked some more rock. "Keep going." Nudge encouraged. I pictured Iggy's ugly face and bam! We had an opening.

"I think we can crawl through." Nudge squeezed through, followed by Gazzy, and Fang. "I'll have to put you down, Angel. Just hold on to that rock over there and I'll help you out." Angel steadied herself. "Hurry." She groaned painfully. "My ankle really really hurts."

I tried to push myself through the opening. I had gotten my head out of the cave and I saw the outdoors. Oh it felt so good to see palm trees and sunlight- "Max! Come on!" I pushed my neck and shoulders out of the opening followed by my torso. _Okay Max, you're halfway out._

I was doing well, until I got stuck at my wings. My wings had never failed me, and now was their time to start. Like I said before, just my luck. "Come on Max!" Angel's muffled voice called. I sucked in my stomach and smushed my wings down. Made it! Only problem, my wings were soar and they would be feeling that for the next few days. Oh right, I only had like one day, so the next day.

"Help my sister!" Gazzy called frantically. I grabbed Angel's hands and easily pulled her out. "We did it! We escaped!" I cheered.

"Congratulations, now you have to go back." I turned around. It was the man who walked into my room while I was under my tests. The man Dr. Fields simply called, "Dr." I looked at him quizzically.

"How did you get out of the cave without us seeing you?" Nudge asked. "Well, releasing your anger is a good way to get out of a cave, Max but I think a better system is using the series of underground tunnels I forced the natives to dig." So there were natives here. They were the ones who lived in those huts.

"Where are the natives?" I asked. "Died in our experiments. Anyway, you destroyed much of our medical equipment and any chance you had of seeing Iggy." Fang looked up. "Iggy?"

"He's dead, and you know it!" I screamed. "He's saying that Iggy's alive?" Fang's eyes widened. "Don't listen to him Fang. He's trying to trick you into going back to the lab."

"Iggy betrayed us. You must have done something to his mind to trick him into it. He wouldn't have done it on his own. He would never have brought us here on his own, knowing that we'd probably die." Nudge yelled.

I noticed Fang's face fall. That was how he found the truth out about Iggy. Not the best way, but hey. "You son of a-" Fang lunged at Dr. "You idiot. You messed with his mind. I know you did." Fang forced Dr. to the sand.

"No I didn't. I just put it in a different perspective. I didn't offer him anything but safety from the experiments. He was fed up with all of you and wanted to get back at you."

"You tricked him. He may have fallen for your crap, but we won't." Fang got off of Dr. "*~!& you! *~!& you all! We won't fall for your crap and as a matter of fact, we're leaving." Fang motioned for us to take off.

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong. You did fall for our crap. You are the most gullible and idiotic half-humans ever." Half-human? WE were 98 percent human!

"When, when did we fall for your tricks?" Nudge challenged. "First off, you thought that we'd let you in to our lab and you thought that you could pretend that you knew a Jessica and that we'd let you in to a lab that you thought was secretive!"

"If the lab was secretive," he continued, "we wouldn't let you in just because you knew someone who worked here. We convinced you then that all we had was a hydroponics lab, which we use for medicinal herbs. If it was just a plant lab, why would it be so secretive with all of those coded locks when it was on a small island with no residents but the scientists?" Wow, he had a point there.

"Wait, just hold on one minute. Why did you trick us in the first place instead of taking us strait to the medical lab?" Nudge asked. "Two reasons. One we were prepared but not yet ready. Two psychological mindset."

"Well, we destroyed your lab and there's no way for you off of the island." Gazzy said. "So ha ha on you!"

"Our lab is not completely destroyed and I do have a way off of this island, we do communicate with the outside world, hello that's how we communicated with Iggy! But, I don't want to leave this island and neither do my non-injured employees. You will not leave either." I put my hands on my hip. "Watch us."

"Wait if you go then we can't- we can't treat you for your- you know, infections, yeah from the island fungus." I picked Angel up, ready to take off. "We may have fallen for some of the things you said, but not this time."

"That was really lame!" Fang called as he started to take off. "You no what else you guys fell for, what we told you about Gazzy! He's not really dying! You think he'd die from going unconscious and having a few cuts that he'd die? Even if they got infected!"

"Oh yeah, why would you lie to us about Gazzy?" I asked. "Because of how tense you would be! You would be more likely to fight, so you wouldn't be able to work together to think up an escape plane and you wouldn't want to leave the island with a sick Gazzy who wouldn't make the trip. Also, how could you come up with a plan when you were so worried about him?"

"Well we did escape and your trick didn't work. We will report you to the police!" Fang yelled as he hovered in the air. "Try to. They won't believe you, you destroyed all of the best evidence!" Great. We took off in the air and waved as the island got smaller and smaller. "Bye bye!"

"Gazzy, I'm so happy that you're not going to die!" Angel called. "Me too. I never really believed it anyway. I had a feeling that I would be okay!" Gazzy said in his macho voice. "So sis, how's your ankle holding up?"

"It really hurts, but since Max is carrying me I have time to relax it." I looked down at Angel. "As soon as we get back, we'll take you to the doctor, don't worry."

"One thing Fang, how did you get the bomb?" I asked. "I had it the whole time. Remember, we took a private plane here so I didn't have to go through airport security! I was able to sneak it here. It was the last bomb Iggy and I made." He muttered the word Iggy, saying it as fast as possible as to avoid thinking of him.

"Which way back?" Nudge asked. "Well we headed southwest so we have to go northeast to get back. Which is… that way." I pointed. "Yeah, but how do we know when to go north and how do we know when to go west and how north and how west?" Nudge asked. I groaned. "We'll find Georgia somehow, okay?!"

I was feeling tired and my arms were getting stiff from carrying Angel. "Angel honey, do you think that you could fly on your own?" I asked. "Okay." She flapped her wings. "Ow! It really hurts!" She complained. "I'll take her." Nudge picked Nudge up and flew ahead with Gazzy.

I stretched my arms. That felt better. "Max!" Fang flew towards me. "What?" I turned around to face him.

"I just want to apologize for being so mean to you the other day." I smiled. "That's okay. I want to apologize too, before I die."

"What?!" I nodded. "I'm dying. No, he wasn't faking it. Whenever any of the employees mentioned me they- well I could just tell. I needed a kidney transplant and you were the only one who could give."

"Max, I would've given you my kidney. I would've given you all of my organs!" I smiled. "Thanks, but we had a certain time window and we missed it. We had to get off of the island."

"Oh Max! You…" He started. "Yes, I gave up my life so we could escape. Good thing too, now that Gazzy's going to live. You were right, Fang. I was kind of selfish. Even if Iggy did betray us, I kind of looked up to him- before he deceived us."

"Oh Max. Hey, do you mind if I just fly next to you for the next few hours or so?"

"Of course not." We didn't say a word for another hour. My wings were getting tired and all of us were hungry, but Fang and I didn't care. While Angel and Gazzy were whining and Nudge was shouting at us, we just smiled and covered our ears with our hands.

As night fell, we grew wearier. Gazzy was practically sleep-flying. We normally would've stopped, but we were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Angel fell asleep almost immediately and the rest of us slowed down. "I don't think we'll ever find land." Nudge moaned. "Well we have to, because we're not turning back." I huffed. "Fine, but if we die, it's all your fault!"

"For your information, I am dying! I needed a kidney a transplant and now it's too late!" I screamed. "What. Why didn't you tell us that you needed a kidney?" Gazzy was now wide awake. I told him why I didn't do the operation while we were at the lab, not leaving any part out about how brave I was.

"But why didn't you tell us?" I shook my head. "I didn't want you all pitying me on my last day of living!"

"Last day?!" Angel asked. I guess I had woken her up. "Yes, but nobody is going to mention it. I am going to live the last day of my life in happiness." Everyone nodded. "Now, let's keep flying. The sooner we find land, the sooner we can rest."


	18. Epilogue

**Okay, this is it. I've finally ended my first fanfic. I'd like to first thank all of my readers. I really hope you enjoyed reading this as I did writing it. I'd like to thank: Miz636 for reviewing on every chapter and reading the entire time. MaximumCandyRide also for giving me your insight and opinions. I'd like to thank everyone who supported me and gave their sugestions. I hope that you'll read more of my fanfics. Please, vote on my poll (will open tomorrow or Tuesday.) It will really help me if you do. Thanks again for sticking it out to the end. Please, PM me anout what you liked and what I can improve on for my future stories. Thanks. Here's the end:**

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Chapter 18: Epilogue**

We were all extremely exhausted. We had been flying for four hours. We'd flown for ten hours strait before, but still when you knew that you couldn't stop if you had to, and you weren't exactly sure where to go it was a completely other story. Different mindset- different conditions, totally different situation. On top of that, we hadn't really flown in awhile and all of us were under the weather from the medicine they had given us back at the lab.

"Max! A bird!" Angel said in a whisper. "It's a seagull, an ugly one if that." Fang remarked. Nudge reached over to slap him, but missed. "Exactly, it's a seagull. Seagulls only come out to sea to fish. They don't go too far out to sea unless they're going to die! Mrs. Dickinson taught me that." Angel boasted.

"Why is it flying around in circles?" Gazzy asked. "It looks confused." We hovered for a few minutes. "Maybe he's trying to catch some fish." Plop! The bird dropped into the water. "I think he's dead." Nudge remarked. "Great!" I yelled. "Just great!" That was just our luck. Just our stupid luck! We weren't near land!

"Wait, maybe we can find our way back. What direction did it come from? He must've come from the shore." Nudge said. "He came from that way." Fang pointed. "Okay then, that way." About twenty minutes later, at daybreak we spotted land in the distance.

"Max! Land!" Nudge screamed. "Land ho!" Fang yelled. "What?" I asked. "Land, up ahead. Let's descend."

"Isn't beautiful." I looked at the sunrise as I landed on the soft sand of the beach. I hadn't seen a sunrise for a long time and I had forgotten how beautiful it was. "Yes, it is. Now where are we?" Nudge carefully lay Angel down on the sand.

"Let's go to one of those tourist shops and pick up a map or guidebook or something." I suggested. "Then we can go find a hospital for Angel." Angel smiled as I picked her up.

"Well, can we get going, I'm tired and hungry!" Gazzy complained. "Alright, let's go!" We found some small shops and diners but we had to hang around for an hour until they opened. "So how are you feeling?" Fang put his hand on my shoulder.

"I'm fine, a little cramped and of course tired, but I'm holding up." Fang sat down next to me in one of the black wire chairs. "Max, we are going to take you to the hospital and we are going to get you a kidney, my kidney."

"Oh Fang, that probably wouldn't work. Let's face it, I'm dying and you'll have to get used to that." A tear fell from Fang's eye and rolled down his cheek.

"Max, I am not going to accept that as a solution. Max, you are not going to die. There is no way that if you die that I would accept your death." Fang paused as I turned away watching Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge lying down in the sand.

They were why I didn't want to die. They were the main reason. I realized. I wasn't afraid of dying and I wasn't mad that they would survive and I wouldn't, no none of that. I was upset that I wouldn't hear their laughter or their voices. I was upset that I wouldn't get to go on anymore adventures with them or see them graduate high school or get married. I wouldn't be part of their lives.

"Max, don't be afraid." Fang whispered. "I'm not." Fang turned my head around to face him. "Look at me." Fang's eyes were sparkling.

"If you die, my life would have no purpose. If you die, I would never be the same. When Iggy died, I lost a part of me. Yes, I'm mad at him, yes, what he did was wrong, but there's still a part of me that loves him. When he died, part of me died. That part will never heal. I can't lose you, Max. I can't."

"Oh Fang…" I held Fang's hand and I noticed that he was shaking. "Don't leave me. Don't you dare leave me."

"Fang, if you put it that way…" Fang's lips grew closer to mine. This was it, we were going to kiss! "Max, come on we can go in the store now. The owner called a cab for us." Nudge called. "Oh, crap. I'm- I'm sorry- I didn't say anything, I'm not here continue…yeah." Nudge backed away. Or not.

I guess I just wasn't meant to kiss Fang. Not in this lifetime. I sighed as I entered the tiny store. "Yes, the nearest hospital is only ten minutes away." The owner said.

He had pulled out two beach chairs for Angel and let her rest her ankle on them. "So, where are you from?" He asked. "Well, I live in Tennessee now with them." I pointed to Gazzy and Angel. "They live in Georgia."

"So, first time in Oceandale, North Carolina?" North Carolina? Wow, we were off track! "Uh yeah." I answered. "So what brings you here?"

"Long story." Nudge replied. "Oh. I think your cab is here. If you ever come back here again, feel free to pay me a visit. Oh, and Angel, I wish you a quick recovery." The man led us out the door and to the road, helping Angel along the way.

"Alright, where are you headed to?" The driver asked. "The nearest hospital." The driver nodded. "Max, you're going to get a doctor too, right?" Nudge asked.

"What's the point?" I knew I was going to die and I didn't need another doctor telling me that. "Max, please. If you don't go to at least get a second opinion, we'll never forgive ourselves if you, you know die."

"Fine. But just don't expect any miracles." I couldn't believe that I was saying that. I was thinking the worst and not hoping for the best. What was wrong with me? I certainly didn't want to die. Was I trying to avoid something? Or someone?

"Here you are." The cab driver stopped the car. "Crap. We don't have any money!" Nudge called. "What? You have to pay me." Angel took off the coral necklace she found in the cave. "Here, this was made by an extinct native tribe on a tiny island. It's real coral and I'm sure it's very old and valuable."

The driver examined it. "Hmm… Okay then. I wish you the best." Angel hopped out of the car followed by the rest of us.

The hospital wasn't at all busy. Besides us, there was one other person in the waiting room. As a matter of fact, after two minutes, they took both of us.

Nudge and Gazzy went with Angel while Fang came with me. "I will do a couple of tests that should be for the most part painless." The doctor promised. He turned around and got a needle. "This shouldn't hurt that much. Just a small poke. Can you handle that?" I nodded as the doctor took a sample of my blood. "Now, I'll need a urine sample."

"Okay." After I gave him everything that he needed, he headed to the lab. "I shall have your results in an hour or so. So stick around."

"Let's go check on Angel." We walked to Angel's room. "They just did an x-ray on me." She said. "What about you?"

"Just blood test, and stuff." I replied. "Oh."

"Um guys, there's something that we have to discuss now. I really don't want to bring this up, but I have to." I took a deep breath. "After this is all over, we have to consider living arrangements."

"Max, you can't give up all hope!" Fang said. "I'm not, I'm just being practical, for the likely situation." Nudge sighed. "Well, Gazzy and Angel will live with us, of course."

"Yes, but where? In Tennessee or in Georgia?" I asked. "Well, it will be a different experience going back home, but I think that we should just stay at our home. I have a part-time job there. We can our old apartment, the one you live in, if you don't mind, to make us extra money."

"Good luck selling hole-in-the-wall that for a decent amount of money, but go ahead." I shrugged. "Yeah… anything else we need to discuss?" I could tell that this was as hard for them as it was for me.

"No. I'll set up my will after the test results come back." I said. "Max, please, don't think about that. It's not absolutely necessary yet!" Fang shouted. "I'm sorry… It's just that, you might not die and I really wish you'd stop saying that you will until you're positive about it."

"I am positive about it. I've had the cramps, I've had pains, those are symptoms." I really wished that Fang would shut up. "They could be psychological!"

"Does that mean she's faking it?" Gazzy asked. "No!" The door opened. "Okay, Angel. You're leg is fractured, don't worry it's only what we call a hair crack. You'll need to be in a cast for three weeks. Oh, and I think Dr. Royce was looking for you."

Fang and I headed back to the room that I was in before. "There you are. Please sit down." The doctor looked at his clipboard.

"I'm very sorry to tell you this, but I'm afraid that you have but twenty-four hours to live. It's never easy to tell a patient this, especially one as young as yourself. Not even twenty yet, what a pity…"

I was sure that I was going to die, I knew that and had even come to accept that fact, but hearing it for sure, from a credible doctor… well that was it. I had no more hope.

"Excuse me, but can't I give her my kidney? We have the same blood type." The Dr. frowned. "I'm afraid that a transplant won't do you any good. You would've had to do it before, like about a good twelve hours ago to have even a minimal chance. Even if we could do the operation, and even if you did survive for your operation, it wouldn't work. It would mess up your system even more."

"Dr., please you really don't understand. Can't you give her drugs or something? I don't know, something to hold her over until she can do the surgery, can't you like do anything? Come on, you're a doctor. I'm sure that you can think of something!"

"I'm sorry. I'll give you a few moments alone. Then I'll be back with some paperwork. I'll tell your friends in the other room."

"Max, you could've lived! It's all my fault. I should've forced you to undergo that operation on the island." Fang cried. "Are you insane? I would've died, you probably would've died too. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel would've had to undergo more of their stupid tests, I made a choice and I'm not sorry about it."

"Max, you know that if there was any way that I could save you, I would do it in a heartbeat, no matter what." I nodded. "I know that you would."

The door opened and Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and the doctor walked in. "Now, you will be experiencing some pain in the next twenty-four hours. We do have the option of hospice. Only problem, you don't have insurance so it may be pricy. I have the forms right here. I'll leave you alone for fifteen minutes, then we have to discuss a few things."

I waited for the Dr. to leave the room. "Max, please don't die!" Angel sobbed. I leaned over and hugged her trying not to knock down her crutches. "I'm sorry Angel, but I'll always be with you in here." I pointed to her heart.

"Princess, I'm sorry that I won't get to see you grow up, but I know that you'll turn into a lovely lady." Angel and I exchanged hugs, both of us crying our eyes out. I then let her go and turned to Gazzy.

"Look after your sister, okay little man?" Gazzy nodded. "I won't let anything happen to her." I ruffled his hair. "That's my little guy."

"We love you." Gazzy's voice cracked. Oh my gosh, his voice was changing! Gazzy was turning into a man. "Whoa." He laughed.

"Nudge, I am so sorry about everything, I mean with the blow-up and all, I should've been there for you…" I started. "I should've too." We hugged.

"And Fang, well I always loved you." Fang smiled. "Me too." I looked at the clipboard. "Holy moly! I can't afford hospice!" I showed Fang the price. "They'll give you as much pain killers as you'd like. You'll be happy!"

"No way. I'm not going to spend the last hours of my life drugged! And you, you aren't paying for this. You will need the money." Nudge and Fang started to protest. "I'm serious. You have to think about you're lives now. I will die, but you will go on."

"Are you sure?" Gazzy asked. "Yes, I'm sure." I filled out some other forms and then, the doctor came in again. "Here." I handed him the clipboard.

"Very well. Is there anyone that you'd like us to call? Do you have any wishes about you're body after your death?"

"No. I don't have any wishes. I don't have anyone to call either, they're my family." The Dr. nodded. "Okay. Also, we will get your room ready for you. You will need to be on bed rest. Again, I'm sorry…" He headed out the door, and hesitated. "If there's anything else I can do…" I shook my head. "Can you just get me a few pieces of paper and a pen?" The Dr. nodded.

"I'm going to write my will for you. I know it's not official. I don't' have time for that. I just hope that you take it into consideration."

"Of course Max, of course. We'll follow it to the letter." Nudge assured. "You guys are the best." We did a group hug. "Max, your room is ready. The paper that you asked for is there." The Dr. escorted me to my room.

I then knew that my time was near when it hurt to stand up and walk. My body felt like it was tied all over the place inside. "Are you okay there?" The Dr. offered to help me. "I'm fine." The doctor led me down the hallway into my room.

"Don't get up for any reason, okay? I'll be back to check on you in a few hours." As the door closed, I took my last steps into bed. I guess that would be where I would end my life. Oh well, I had lived a pretty good life.

Nudge and Fang crowded around me. "You'll be fine without me." I reached over and grabbed the paper and pen. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to write now." I started to write the note for them.

"Uh, Max, is Gazzy supposed to be doing that?" Angel asked. "Oh my gosh! He's having a seizure! Get the doctor!" Fang screamed. Nudge ran down to get the doctor, while Fang tried to help Gazzy. What was wrong with him? I thought he wasn't going to die. Oh my goodness, Gazzy had to be okay, he just had to!

"Clear!" The doctor shouted. Some of the nurses put him on a gurney and took him to another room. "Do you mind if we…" Nudge started. "Go." Nudge and Angel followed Gazzy. "Fang, go." He shook his head.

"Max, I'm here to worry about you. Gazzy's important too, but I think he can pull this one through." I picked up my papers again and started writing. "What makes you so sure?" Fang shrugged. "I just know."

I finished writing and put the papers down on the desk. "Max, even though you only have twenty-four hours to live, I think that we can work out."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Come on, Max, will you go out with me?" Was he for real? "Gazzy's struggling for life in the other room, I'm dying…" Fang hushed me. "I know. At least we can guarantee that we'll remain together for the rest of your life."

"Oh you." Fang leaned over and our lips met. This time, Nudge wasn't there to interrupt us. Yes, she was with Gazzy unfortunately, but still…

It was a magical moment. For that minute, I didn't think about any of my troubles. I didn't think of me dying, or Gazzy. No, I just thought about Fang and I. Fang slowly pulled back. "I think we can manage being together the rest of my life. 'Till death do us part." I sat up and kissed Fang. I didn't care that I was in pain, because I was in love.

Nudge burst into the room. "Well Gazzy has some type of medical condition and they don't know what it is. We will have to stay here until they figure it out! I really don't think that I can take much more of being in hospitals!" She screamed.

"Nudge, I know this is hard for you, but Gazzy needs you. Once I die, you will all need each other. You will need to be closer than you've ever been. I'm leaving you some items I have so that you do okay and be able to pay for he medical bills, hopefully. That's all that I can do, but I'm afraid that will have to do."

"Max, you know how I said that you were selfish a few days ago; I take that back 100 percent." Fang leaned down and kissed me. "Fang's right, Max. You are pulling us through everything. I don't know how we will survive without you."

Nudge leaned down to hug me. "I think that you'll manage. It won't be easy, but you'll manage." Nudge turned around. "I have to go check on them, I'll be back…" I could tell that Nudge was going crazy going back and forth. "Just tell them that I love them." Nudge nodded as she left the room.

The Dr. came back in to check on me. He told me that if I needed anything to call as he left my room again.

"Fang, will you do me a favor?" I asked. "Sure, anything."

"Go comfort Nudge and give Angel and Gazzy a hug from me." Fang nodded. "I'll be right back." I turned over and felt something in my pocket. Oh yeah, Iggy's diary!

I opened it to the last page. It read:

_To my Flock, I hope that you will read this. I am a bit sorry about betraying you, but I do not regret it. This is my revenge to you! They didn't have to offer me money or anything really. I would've done it anyway._

_You used me as a pawn from time to time and let's face it, were sometimes inconsiderate of me. I did not get the attention or respect I deserved. _

_Nudge, I always loved you but I can't see a way that we would've worked out. I hope you all don't die, but I hope you will go through much pain, like the pain you put me through. _

_Also, please don't read the rest of my journal. Ta, Iggy._

That was bullcrap! When were we mean to Iggy? Okay sometimes I was but, usually we got on fine. Those scientists! It had to be them! They must've brainwashed him somehow. He was probably mad at us one day, then they got him talking and well, led him to that monster.

Iggy may not have meant the worst for us at first, but he did at the end. Should I let the rest of the Flock see that page? Should I let them see what a true slime he turned into? Nah, they were going through enough. I ripped the page out of the book and tore it to shreds. It would be our little secret.

"Max!" Fang and Nudge walked in. "What? Is Gazzy alright?" I asked. "The doctors have narrowed it down to two things. Both aren't good." Nudge knelt down and cried. "Oh Max!" She wept. She put her head on my stomach.

"Oww!" I screamed. "Oh, right, sorry." I looked at the clock. "I don't have that much time. I really think that I should say my goodbyes." Nudge cried.

"Max, I love you but I can't watch you die. I want to be with you but I- I just can't." I nodded. "I understand." Nudge leaned down and hugged me. We hugged for five minutes, until I finally let go. "The longer we hold on the harder it will be to let go."

"I love you Max, I love you so much." Nudge ran out of the room crying.

"Fang, look after her for me." Fang nodded. "She'll be fine." I looked up. "She'll need someone." Fang shook his head. "You mean like…"

"If you love each other." Fang shook his head. "Are you crazy? We're dating each other now. I can't think of that!"

"Just in case…" I coughed. "You know something Max, you are one special girl." Fang reached down and gave me another kiss.

Over the next few hours, I got weaker. My pain increased and it hurt for me to talk. I knew that I was reaching my final hour.

I couldn't really complain. I had lived a good life. I was going to die as Fang's girlfriend, and I could die knowing that we had all made up and that I was able to go through with the ultimate sacrifice.

"Fang…" I coughed. "The note." I pointed toward the desk. I looked up at Fang lovingly. I was too weak to say anything, too weak to kiss or hug him, but I would spend the last few seconds of my life looking at Fang. I noticed that Fang turned and picked up my note. As he read it, he gently stroked me.

_Dear Flock,  
I am in the hospital as I write this. I am surrounded by those closest to me. I cannot leave this world happier. _

_Fang, I will love you for always. Nudge, I know that you can take care of everything. (Fang will be happy to hear that you're the boss of him.____ ) Gazzy, you are having a seizure right now…where was I, oh yes, you'll pull through, be strong. Lastly, Angel, I hope that your memories of me are happy and know that you will forever be in my heart._

_I'll you all Iggy's diary (if you want it.) Feel free to sell any of my jewelry, except for my gold ring. Fang, that's for you to symbolize our everlasting love._

_Gazzy and Angel, I have your birthday presents in my closet, bottom drawer. Unfortunately, I didn't buy a present for you guys Nudge and Fang because you know…just feel free to take any of my possessions to fill in for it. _

_Let's see, the government may pay you extra compensation money monthly for your loss. If they don't give it to you, tell them that they will be curse. (No seriously, don't.) I don't know what I'm saying…_

_Anyway, I hope that you will find guidance in my words and that good blessings will always find you and if any Erasers give you trouble that you will kick their asses to the moon. Lol._

_I will miss our adventures, but know that you will have many more. I know that you love me as much as I do you and I thank you for everything nice you've done for me.  
_

_Well, anyway I love you all and wish that we could've spent more time with each other. Happiness and strength be with you. _

_Max-as always part of the Fantastic Flock, the Superb Six. The leader._


End file.
